Former FBI Director James Comey says he is “innocent” after being indicted for a second time by the Trump Justice Department, this time over an Instagram post featuring seashells arranged to spell “86 47” — a post prosecutors argue amounted to a veiled threat against President Donald Trump.
Comey appeared Monday on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” where he defended himself while also blasting the Justice Department’s newly created $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” which was announced later in the day as part of a settlement tied to Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS.
“I am not just not guilty, I am innocent,” Comey told George Stephanopoulos. “And I have amazing lawyers who are also my friends, so we will do our absolute best in a courtroom. And I feel good about it.”
The indictment stems from a 2025 Instagram photo Comey posted showing shells arranged on a beach to display the numbers “86 47,” accompanied by the caption: “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”
Trump allies seized on the post immediately, arguing that “86” is widely used slang meaning “get rid of” or “eliminate,” while “47” referred to Trump as the 47th president. Comey has insisted he did not interpret the phrase as violent and said he was unaware of the alleged implication.
Federal prosecutors in North Carolina nevertheless secured a grand jury indictment last month. Comey’s attorneys are expected to argue the case is politically motivated and represents selective prosecution by the Justice Department.
The new case comes after a previous indictment against Comey on unrelated charges was dismissed last fall. That earlier prosecution followed public demands from Trump that the Justice Department pursue criminal cases against Comey and other political opponents.
The legal battles now extend to Comey’s family as well. His daughter, Maurene Comey, is currently suing the Justice Department after she was fired from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York last year.
“We can avail ourselves of the last healthy part of the American government, which is the federal judiciary,” Comey said Monday. “So, my daughter is suing them to establish that you cannot fire a career person without cause, and obviously I’m defending myself.”
But the biggest political development of the day came after Comey’s television appearance, when the Justice Department officially announced the creation of “The Anti-Weaponization Fund.”
The fund was established as part of an agreement resolving Trump’s massive lawsuit against the IRS. Trump and his sons — Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. — agreed to drop their $10 billion legal action in exchange for the Justice Department creating a formal compensation system for Americans claiming they were victims of politically motivated investigations or prosecutions.
According to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the program is intended to address abuses committed under prior administrations.
“The machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American,” Blanche said in a statement. “As part of this settlement, we are setting up a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress.”
Trump and his sons themselves are barred from receiving money from the fund, though they will receive a formal apology from the government as part of the agreement.
The fund will remain active until December 2028 and will be overseen by a five-member commission appointed by the attorney general. It will have the authority to issue financial compensation and formal apologies to approved claimants.
The Justice Department says the program is modeled after prior federal compensation systems, including the Obama-era “Keepseagle” fund, which paid claims tied to allegations of discrimination within the Department of Agriculture.
Critics, however, argue the program creates the possibility of taxpayer-funded payouts to Trump allies and supporters claiming they were unfairly targeted by federal agencies.
Comey delivered perhaps the sharpest criticism during his ABC interview.
“If I put it in my next novel, I’m sure my editor would strike it out and say it’s crazy,” he said. “We can’t set up a multi-million-dollar ATM at Mar-a-Lago for people who’ve committed crimes. It just isn’t the way we are.”
Meanwhile, the Justice Department continues pursuing investigations connected to alleged abuses during the Russia investigation years. Officials are reportedly examining whether former CIA Director John Brennan misled Congress regarding intelligence tied to Russian interference in the 2016 election.
