Latest news with #Comey
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
FBI Director Patel says he's had to divert resources to investigate 'copycats' of Comey '86 47' post
FBI Director Kash Patel said he has been forced to divert agents to investigate "copycats" of potential threats to President Donald Trump as a result of former FBI Director James Comey's "86 47" social media post. Bureau officials told Fox News Digital it needs to be focused on "public safety, not cleaning up after political stunts." Patel sat down for an interview with Fox News' Bret Baier and revealed that the FBI has had to investigate "copycats" because of Comey's "beachside venture." Former Fbi Director James Comey Meets With Secret Service After Controversial '86 47' Post "Do you know how many agents I've had to take offline from chasing down child sex predators, fentanyl traffickers, terrorists because everywhere across this country, people are popping up on social media and think that a threat to the life of the president of the United States is a joke and they can do it because he did it?" Patel said. "That's what I'm having to deal with every single day, and that's what I'm having to pull my agents and analysts off because he thought it was funny to go out there and make a political statement," he continued. Read On The Fox News App An FBI official told Fox News Digital that they cannot disclose the number of "copycat" incidents due to ongoing investigations but described the number to Fox News Digital as "significant." Comey met with Secret Service officials in Washington this month for an interview about his "86 47" Instagram post, two sources briefed on the meeting told Fox News. Comey is under investigation for the now-deleted Instagram post that showed seashells arranged on a beach to read "86 47." "Cool shell formation on my beach walk," he wrote along with the post. Some have interpreted the post to mean "86" – get rid of – "47," or Donald Trump, the 47th president. Trump Addresses Comey's '8647' Message: 'He Knew Exactly What It Meant' "What people need to understand is that every copycat threat forces the FBI to divert time, agents and resources; resources that should be spent saving lives and taking criminals and deadly drugs off our streets," an FBI official told Fox News Digital. "This kind of chaos was normalized by someone who knows better, and the director reminds lawmakers, especially in places like California and New York that have defended Comey, that we should be focused on public safety, not cleaning up after political stunts." Comey offered an explanation for the post after he received backlash on social media. "I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message," the subsequent post from Comey said. "I didn't realize some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down." The president, in a separate May interview with Baier, didn't accept Comey's explanation. "He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant," Trump told Baier. "If you're the FBI director, and you don't know what that meant, that meant 'assassination,' and it says it loud and clear."Original article source: FBI Director Patel says he's had to divert resources to investigate 'copycats' of Comey '86 47' post
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Patel: ‘I won't be lectured' by Comey
FBI Director Kash Patel dismissed criticism from one of his predecessors, James Comey, who recently suggested Patel was ill equipped to run the bureau. In an interview Wednesday on Fox News's 'Special Report,' host Bret Baier asked Patel about Comey's recent Instagram post of shells arranged to form '8647,' in what many supporters of President Trump's said was a threat on the president's life. Others suggested the message could have been a call to oust Trump from power. Comey insisted, however, that he did not arrange the seashells himself — merely took a photo of it — and that he would never call for violence. He subsequently removed the post. 'You know, the FBI is bigger than any leader it's ever had or ever will have,' Patel said about the post. 'And James Comey is a private citizen, and he can walk around the beach and talk about seashells and Crayola crayons for all I care about and talk about how we're the conspiracy theorists.' 'But I'll just remind the American people of one thing,' he continued. 'When that man was the leader of the FBI, he perpetrated the largest criminal conspiracy, packaged political information from overseas, took it to a federal FISA court and illegally surveilled a political opponent.' 'So, I won't be lectured on how to run this FBI from that man,' the FBI chief added. Earlier that day, Comey had made an appearance on CNN and raised questions about Patel and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino's leadership abilities. The former FBI director said he's not confident in the agency's leadership but that he has faith in the career officials there. 'I hope the career people are able to support the director and the deputy director,' he said, referring to Patel and Bongino. 'There are lots of people in the FBI who know what they're doing. I hope these two guys are letting them guide them.' Comey, appointed by former President Obama in 2013, noted he lacks confidence in the leaders themselves. 'Nothing in their life or their career gives me confidence that they know anything about leading an organization like that,' Comey said. 'And so, I would have serious doubts.' 'I bet they do internally … have doubts. Great. Let the people who know what they're doing give you advice, and listen to them,' he added. Trump ousted Comey from his post leading the FBI in 2017, and the two have been vocal critics of each other since. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Patel: ‘I won't be lectured' by Comey
FBI Director Kash Patel dismissed criticism from one of his predecessors, James Comey, who recently suggested he was ill equipped to run the bureau. In an exclusive interview Wednesday on Fox News's 'Special Report,' host Bret Baier asked Patel about Comey's recent Instagram post of shells arranged to form '8647,' in what many supporters of President Trump's understood to be a threat on the president's life. Others suggested the message could have been a call to oust Trump from power. Comey insisted, however, that he did not arrange the seashells himself — merely took a photo of it — and that he would never call for violence. He subsequently removed the post. 'You know, the FBI is bigger than any leader it's ever had or ever will have,' Patel said about the Instagram post. 'And James Comey is a private citizen, and he can walk around the beach and talk about seashells and Crayola crayons for all I care about and talk about how we're the conspiracy theorists.' 'But I'll just remind the American people of one thing,' he continued. 'When that man was the leader of the FBI, he perpetrated the largest criminal conspiracy, packaged political information from overseas, took it to a federal FISA court and illegally surveilled a political opponent.' 'So, I won't be lectured on how to run this FBI from that man,' the FBI chief added. It was not immediately clear what criticism Patel's remarks were addressing, but earlier that day, Comey made an appearance on CNN and raised questions about Patel and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino's leadership abilities. Comey said he's not confident in the FBI leadership but said he has faith in the career officials there. 'I hope the career people are able to support the director and the deputy director,' Comey said, referring to Patel and Bongino. 'There are lots of people in the FBI who know what they're doing. I hope these two guys are letting them guide them.' The former Obama administration official noted that he lacks confidence in the leaders themselves. 'Nothing in their life or their career gives me confidence that they know anything about leading an organization like that,' Comey said. 'And so, I would have serious doubts.' 'I bet they do internally about whether they have doubts. Great. Let the people who know what they're doing give you advice, and listen to them,' he added. President Trump ousted Comey from his post leading the FBI in 2017 and the ex-director has since been a vocal critic of the president and vice versa.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Kash Patel Rages at James Comey Over Cryptic Trump Post
FBI director Kash Patel launched a scathing rebuke against James Comey in an interview in which Patel warned, 'I won't be lectured on how to run the FBI by that man.' Patel ranted about the former Trump administration FBI director in an interview with Fox News' Bret Baier, claiming the former FBI chief's 'beachside venture,' in which he posted a photo of seashells that spelled out the numbers '86″ and '47,″ has led to 'copycat' threats against President Donald Trump. MAGAworld went into a frenzy earlier this month after Comey posted the picture of the seashells with the caption, 'Cool shell formation on my beach walk.' He explained in a follow-up statement after deleting the image that he thought the shells displayed some kind of nonviolent political message. Multiple Trump officials perceived it as a threat to '86,″ or take out, the 47th president, and opened an investigation. Comey deleted the post. He later explained he 'didn't realize some folks associate those numbers with violence' and has criticized Patel for his lack of expertise for the role. 'In a way, I feel a little sorry for the guy,' Comey told MSNBC's Jen Psaki on Friday. Patel claimed in his Wednesday Fox News interview that Comey 'is a private citizen and he can walk around the beach and talk about seashells and Crayola crayons for all I care about, and talk about how we're the conspiracy theorists,' but, he added, 'if he wants to come after me, no problem.' He added: ''I won't be lectured on how to run the FBI by that man.' Comey, who was fired by Trump in 2017, said last week he was interviewed by the Secret Service about the post but doesn't expect the investigation to go anywhere. 'I expect it'll go away cause there's nothing there,' he told Psaki last week. Patel, however, claimed Comey's Instagram post is still causing him headaches. 'Do you know how many copycats we've had to investigate as a result of that beachside venture from a former director?' he asked Baier. 'Do you know how many agents I've had to take offline from chasing down child sex predators, fentanyl traffickers, terrorists?' 'Because everywhere across this country, people are popping up on social media and think that a threat to the life of the president of the United States is a joke, and they can do it because he did it,' he continued, adding: 'that's what I'm having to deal with every single day ... because he thought it was funny to go out there make a political statement.' Trump has stacked top law enforcement roles with loyalists—including Patel as FBI chief, Pam Bondi as attorney general, and former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro as the U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C.
New York Post
3 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
FBI Director Kash Patel fumes over James Comey ‘copycats' forcing overwhelmed agency to pull agents off child sex predator, drug trafficking cases
The FBI has been overwhelmed investigating James Comey 'copycats' in the wake of his controversial '86 47' Instagram post, Director Kash Patel revealed Wednesday. 'Do you know how many copycats we've had to investigate as a result of that beachside venture from the former director?' Patel told Fox News 'Special Report' host Bret Baier, during an interview from the bureau's academy in Quantico, Virginia. Patel indicated that the uptick in potential threats against President Trump since Comey's May 15 post has been so substantial that the FBI has had to redirect significant resources – including agents focused on child sex crimes and drug trafficking – to investigate them. 4 Patel discussed the Comey copycats during an interview with Bret Baier. Fox News 4 James Comey, former FBI Director, speaks at the Barnes & Noble Upper West Side on May 19, 2025 in New York City. Getty Images 'Do you know how many agents I've had to take offline from chasing down child sex predators, fentanyl traffickers, terrorists .. because everywhere across this country people are popping up on social media and think that a threat to the life of the president of the United States is a joke … and they can do it because [Comey] did it?' the FBI chief said. 'That's what I'm having to deal with every single day,' Patel fumed. 'And that's why I'm having to pull my agents and analysts off – because [Comey] thought it was funny to go out there and make a political statement.' The FBI did not immediately respond to The Post's request for details on the surge in possible threats against Trump since the former FBI director's Instagram post. 4 Patel indicated that the uptick in potential threats against President Trump since Comey's May 15 post has been so substantial that the FBI has had to redirect significant resources. comey/Instagram 4 Former FBI Director James Comey departs after giving a private deposition to the House Judiciary and House Government and Oversight committees on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., December 7, 2018. REUTERS In the since-deleted post, Comey shared an image of seashells arranged on a beach to form the numbers '86 47,' which many Republicans, including Trump, viewed as a call to assassinate the 47th president. Comey, who was fired by Trump in May 2017 after serving as FBI director since September 2013, was interviewed by Secret Service investigators the day after the post. The former director indicated during an interview with MSNBC last week that he doesn't expect criminal charges or any additional action from the Trump administration over the shell post, which he viewed at the time – and still does – as 'totally innocent.'
