James Comey’s lawyers say US government distorted details in seashell case

xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd Al Jazeera on GoogleinfoFormer FBI Director James Comey talks in June 2018 before a panel discussion about his book, A Higher Loyalty [Carsten Koall/Getty Images]By Al Jazeera Staff and The Associated PressPublished On 29 Jul 202629 Jul 2026Lawyers for James Comey — a former head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and longtime subject of President Donald Trump’s ire — have said that United States prosecutors omitted key details and falsified others in a case brought against their client.

Comey’s defence team filed a series of misconduct allegations on Tuesday, arguing that the government’s case is motivated by political retribution and riven with “irregularities”.

The lawyers are seeking the dismissal of the case.

“Ample objective evidence — much of which comes directly from government officials’ own public statements and admissions — establishes that the President’s animus toward Mr Comey led to this vindictive and selective prosecution,” they wrote in one of the filings.

The Department of Justice has alleged that the numbers are a numerical message that alludes to killing Trump, the 47th president. The term “86” is slang for “nix” or “throw out”, often used at restaurants to cancel orders.

While the prosecution has argued the expression has criminal connotations, Comey has denied that the post had any violent meaning.

Rights advocates have also questioned whether the charges will stand up in court, as the seashell photo is likely to be considered protected speech under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

Comey faces one count of threatening the president and a second count of transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison.

The case is the latest example of the Trump administration’s aggressive prosecution of the president’s rivals.

Previously, federal prosecutors have unveiled indictments against figures like New York Attorney General Letitia James and former National Security Advisor John Bolton, both of whom have been vocally critical of the president.

While Bolton pled guilty to illegally withholding classified materials in June, the case against James was swiftly thrown out.

Comey too faced a separate criminal indictment in September 2025, shortly after Trump posted on Truth Social that “nothing is being done” to prosecute figures like him and James.

Federal prosecutors at the time accused Comey of obstruction and making false statements to Congress.

Both that case and James’s were dismissed in November 2025, after a federal judge determined that the prosecutor who brought the indictments was not legally appointed.

The motion that Comey’s defence team filed on Tuesday alleges that federal prosecutors withheld details about their unsuccessful efforts to prove a connection between the term “86” and criminal activity.

Comey’s lawyers describe several instances where federal prosecutors and FBI agents searched for “86”, including in the file of suspected gangster John Gambino.

Comey had worked on Gambino’s case early in his career. But no mention of “86” was found in the file.

Those failed searches were intentionally omitted from applications for search warrants in the latest Comey case, his defence lawyers said.

“Evidence obtained during discovery supports at least a substantial preliminary showing that the affidavits submitted in support of two of the search warrants contained intentionally false statements and material omissions, and that those defects vitiate any conceivable showing of probable cause,” Comey’s lawyers wrote.

Trump has frequently called for Comey to be prosecuted, describing him as a “corrupt piece of garbage”.

The Republican leader fired Comey during his first term in May 2017, when the FBI was investigating potential ties between Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and Russia. The two have openly criticised each other ever since.