Jordan Accuses James Comey Of Threatening Trump
Rep. Jim Jordan accused former FBI Director James Comey on Wednesday of committing multiple offenses, including what Jordan described as a direct threat against President Donald Trump.
Jordan made the remarks during an interview on Fox News while discussing a social media controversy involving a now-deleted Instagram post allegedly shared by Comey.
Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer referenced the image during the segment.
“So this is what he posted on Instagram then took it down: 86-47,” Hemmer said. “As we all know, 86 is an old phrase for get rid of someone.”
Comey has reportedly claimed the image was simply something he noticed while walking along a beach in North Carolina and that he did not intend the post as a threat.
Jordan dismissed that explanation outright and argued the message clearly carried threatening implications toward the president.
“Well, it’s is a crime to threaten the president. 18 USC Section 871. So you can’t do that. And he obviously did,” Jordan said.
“Now, he tries to tell us No, no, no. He was just strolling on the beach one morning drinking his coffee and the good lord washed up on shore and the shells formed 86-47 and he took a picture of it,” Jordan continued.
“OK, that’s his story. I don’t think anyone buys that,” he added.
Jordan then broadened his criticism, linking the controversy to Comey’s role in launching the original Trump-Russia investigation nearly a decade ago.
“But you can’t threaten the president,” Jordan said. “I think it’s important to remember this is Jim Comey who started it all.”
“This 10-year attack on the president of the United States, on President Trump started with Comey,” he continued.
Jordan also revived longstanding Republican criticism surrounding the FBI’s use of the Steele dossier during the surveillance investigation into President Trump’s 2016 campaign.
“Remember, he took the dossier that he knew was garbage,” Jordan said.
“He’s the guy who took it to the secret court to get the warrant to spy on President Trump’s campaign.”
Jordan further accused Comey of improperly leaking sensitive information to the media after leaving office.
“The guy who leaked the memos and leaked classified information through his buddy Daniel Richman to the press,” Jordan said.
“So this is that guy,” he added. “And now he tells us, ‘Oh, I didn’t do anything wrong’ when we all know what this means.”
As of now, Comey has not publicly been charged solely over the Instagram post itself, and federal authorities have not released detailed evidence directly connecting the image to criminal intent.
However, the controversy escalated significantly after reports emerged that a federal grand jury had indicted Comey on charges connected to alleged threats involving the social media post.
According to reports, U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan has been assigned to oversee the case.
Flanagan serves on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina and was originally appointed by former President George W. Bush in 2003.
The indictment reportedly alleges Comey threatened President Trump through the “86 47” seashell image posted to Instagram in May 2025.
Judge Flanagan received the case through the federal court’s random assignment process.
In a separate interview last weekend, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche suggested the investigation involved substantially more evidence than the publicly known Instagram image.
“Every case requires an investigation, and what you just showed is one part of that investigation. What you just showed is the Instagram post,” Blanche told Fox News.
“Rest assured that the career Assistant United States Attorneys in North Carolina, the career FBI agents, the career Secret Service agents that investigated this case didn’t just look at the Instagram post and walk away,” he continued.
“That’s why you saw an indictment last week, notwithstanding the fact that it was last May that the post was made. So I am not permitted to get into details of what the grand jury heard or found, as you know, but rest assured that it’s not just the Instagram post that leads somebody to get indicted,” Blanche added.
The case is already drawing intense national attention given Comey’s long and controversial history with President Trump dating back to the early Russia investigation during Trump’s first term.
For many conservatives, the latest controversy has become symbolic of broader concerns involving political bias inside federal law enforcement agencies and what they view as years of coordinated institutional hostility toward President Trump.