President Donald Trump bashed former FBI Director James Comey in two Truth Social posts the day after a federal judge set a criminal trial date for Comey’s pending federal felony charges.
U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan of North Carolina issued a written order Friday that set the trial to begin on July 15 and postponed Comey’s first appearance in court, originally scheduled for Monday.
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The case centers on a since-deleted May 2025 Instagram post featuring a picture of the numeric sequence “86 47” spelled out in seashells on a beach. Prosecutors say that this phrase amounted to a threat against Trump’s life, as the slang term “86” often refers to killing someone.
In the first post, Trump wrote the caption “Pathetic!!!” with a clip from Comey’s appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in May 2025. In it, Comey explains away the term “86 47” by claiming that his wife thought that “86” meant something in the restaurant industry. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) argued last Sunday that Comey did not commit a crime while echoing a similar sentiment, agreeing that “86” refers to taking something off the menu or removing a product.
Trump reiterated his attack that Comey is a “dirty cop” in the second post, which also features a video of Comey explaining the story of when he found the seashells while walking on the beach with his wife. He denied that the post had any violent intentions.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said on May 3 that the investigation that led to Comey’s indictment featured more than just the “86 47” post.
JAMES COMEY CRIMINAL TRIAL OVER ‘86 47’ POST SET FOR JULY 15
Comey is expected to enter a not guilty plea on June 30. The court has set a May 29 deadline for the pretrial conference.
Flanagan granted Comey’s lawyers’ request to cancel the Monday arraignment in North Carolina. They argued that his initial appearance had already occurred since he appeared in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, on April 29.
