Sens. Mike Lee and Josh Hawley are introducing a resolution condemning former FBI Director James Comey for an Instagram post that may have encouraged violent action against President Donald Trump.
“This message promotes violence against the sitting president of the United States, Donald J. Trump,” reads the resolution, obtained by The Daily Signal. “It is indefensible and inexcusable to issue a call for violence against the president of the United States.”
The resolution also “urges the relevant authorities to take every relevant action to ensure that Mr. Comey is never again permitted to serve as an employee of the federal government,” and “requests that the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security conduct a full and comprehensive investigation of Mr. Comey’s attempts to incite violence against the president, and release the findings to the relevant committees of Congress and the public.”
In the afternoon of May 15, Comey posted a photo on instagram of seashells on the beach that read “86 47” with the caption “cool shell formation on my beach walk.”
Comey deleted the post just hours later, but not before igniting a media firestorm. The “47” appeared to refer to Trump, the 47th president of the United States. Restaurants have long used “86” as shorthand for when they run out of a menu item. When the term is applied to the military, however, it means to get rid of something or someone—in certain circumstances, even to kill someone.
“For the former FBI director to be amplifying threats against the President of the United States is disgraceful,” Lee told The Daily Signal. “President Trump has been targeted in two assassination attempts and wounded in one, which killed Corey Comperatore. Congress should unite to condemn Jim Comey in the strongest terms.”
The resolution Lee and Hawley will introduce on Tuesday will be the Senate counterpart to a House resolution that Reps. August Pfluger, R-Texas, and Laurel Lee, R-Fla., introduced the day after Comey’s post. Akin to the Lee-Hawley resolution, the House version calls Comey’s post “disturbing” and “urges the relevant authorities to take every relevant action to ensure that Mr. Comey is never again permitted to serve as an employee of the federal government.”
“For years, we’ve heard accusations from the Left about so-called dangerous rhetoric. But now, former FBI Director James Comey—the same official who helped launch the discredited Russia collusion hoax —is engaging in rhetoric that carries an implicit threat against President Trump,” Rep. Lee told The Daily Signal. “As a former federal prosecutor and judge, I take this very seriously. James Comey should never again hold a position of public trust in the United States government, and we formally urge the Department of Justice to investigate whether his conduct violates applicable laws.”
“The American people deserve equal justice—not selective outrage,” she added. “If we are to preserve the rule of law, then even those who once led law enforcement must be held accountable.”
Pfluger told The Daily Signal that “as violent riots rage across Los Angeles, it has never been more important to have leaders in Washington that are prepared to defend the rule of law and uphold our shared values.”
“James Comey’s reckless incitement of violence is another reminder of how dangerous it is when former public officials prioritize politics over the values our nation was founded upon,” Pfluger continued. “This bicameral resolution demands the accountability and transparency the American people deserve, ensuring Comey never again holds a position of public trust.”
Soon after Comey’s May 15 post, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted on X that “DHS and Secret Service is [sic] investigating this threat and will respond appropriately.”
Comey, who served as FBI director from 2013 to 2017 until Trump fired him for his handling of the investigations into Hillary Clinton’s emails and the now-debunked Trump-Russia collusion, removed the post.
“I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message,” the former FBI director posted. “I didn’t realize some folks associated those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”
A New York Times report claims that Comey was swiftly pulled into a Secret Service office in Washington to be interviewed about the post. In the following days, Comey appeared on MSNBC and “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” and discussed the incident.
“To me, as a kid, it always meant to leave a place, to ditch a place,” Comey told Nicolle Wallace during his MSNBC interview. “I said, that’s really clever.”
Comey, however, does not believe he will be punished. He told Steven Colbert on “The Late Show” that, when interviewed by the Secret Service,” I gave them the same explanation, which is the truth, and I would expect it to go away.”
Colbert jokingly congratulated Comey on the “viral campaign.”