Latest news with #FDRDrive
Wall Street Journal
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
James Comey on His New Thriller, Those Seashells and That Signal Chat
James Comey's new book, 'FDR Drive,' features a villain who incites violence while keeping his own hands clean. After Comey posted an Instagram photo on May 15 of seashells in the formation '86 47,' the White House accused the former FBI director of doing something similar. 'A child knows what that meant,' President Trump told Fox News. 'If you're the FBI director and you don't know what that meant—that meant assassination.'
The Independent
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
James Comey blames wife for infamous ‘8647' post in Colbert interview
Former FBI head James Comey shed yet more light on his infamous '8647' social media post during an interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Tuesday night. Comey told Colbert that he was walking on the beach with his wife, Patrice, when they noticed the formation in seashells. Comey's wife asked him, 'Did someone put their address in the sand?' The couple stared for a while before Comey said he realized it was likely a 'clever political message.' He credited his wife with recognizing the term '86' to mean get rid of from her time working as a restaurant server. 'She said, 'You should take a picture of it,' I said, 'Sure.' Then she said, 'You should Instagram that,' and then boom!' he added. Since posting the pic, Comey has drawn swathes of criticism from the MAGA world, including calls for him to be jailed. Comey was appearing on the show to promote his new book, a legal thriller titled FDR Drive. He also confirmed to Colbert that the Secret Service had since called him in for an interview. 'We stood at it — looked at it, trying to figure out what it was, and she had long been a server in restaurants, and she said, 'You know what I think it is? I think it's a reference to restaurants when you would 86 something in a restaurant,' Comey also said. Colbert appeared to understand the reference and clarified, 'Like off the menu?' Comey continued to explain to Colbert that the reference was something he thought it was a 'clever political message,' but said, 'No, I remember when I was a kid, you would say '86' to get out of a place. 'This place stinks, let's 86 it''. The host appeared to understand Comey's explanation and said he was familiar with the term '86' in food settings. 'I was a bartender, you would 86 a customer if they were getting drunk. Like, 'Let's 86 them, give them a low-proof alcohol or something like that,' Colbert said. According to a journal from the American Dialect Society, '86' is a slang term used to signal that a food or drink item is no longer available or that a customer needs to leave. The dictionary site Merriam-Webster also corroborates this understanding as a term used "to throw out,' or 'get rid of'. However, Trump and MAGA have insinuated that the post was a 'threat' to the president's life. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene slammed Comey's post, taking to social media to say: 'We still don't know a single thing about Thomas Crooks, who shot the President. So what's going to happen to James Comey, who just issued a death threat to the President?' Comey was then asked by Colbert what he thought about Trump's decision to pardon or commute over 1,500 January 6 rioters. 'It was an obscenity that will stain this country forever,' Comey said. 'It sends terrible messages in that direction [referring to the prospect of future political violence]. It totally undercuts the deterrent effect of prosecutions. It sends a terrible message to people who might investigate crimes like that'. 'You are not going to get ahead in the FBI by working stuff like that, given what you saw happen with the pardons,' he added. Last week, President Trump responded to Comey's post by drilling down on the accusations that his message 'meant assassination'. Backpedaling on his post, Comey took to Instagram late Thursday evening to defend his actions after deleting the image. 'I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message. 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.' Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose agency oversees the Secret Service, confirmed that the DHS and the Secret Service were investigating the post as a 'threat and will respond appropriately."
Arab Times
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab Times
Former FBI director Comey calls controversy over Instagram post ‘a bit of a distraction'
Former FBI director James Comey gestures while speaking at Harvard University's Institute of Politics' JFK Jr. Forum in Cambridge, Mass., Feb. 24, 2020. (AP) NEW YORK, May 20, (AP): Former FBI director James Comey says that he's still a bit bewildered over how a seemingly innocent Instagram shot of shells arranged in the sand led to allegations by Donald Trump among others that he was calling for the president's assassination and to an interview with the Secret Service. "It's been a bit of a distraction, honestly,' Comey said with a weary laugh Monday night during an appearance at a Barnes & Noble on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Comey was promoting "FDR Drive,' a crime novel coming out this week. One of the book's themes, ironically, is weighing the potential of speech to incite others to violence. Comey, whom Trump fired in 2017 amid an FBI investigation into potential ties between Russia and Trump's first presidential campaign, explained Monday that he and his wife, Patrice, had been returning from a walk on the beach last Thursday when they came upon some shells organized in a way that resembled numbers, including "86.' They speculated over whether it was a home address, or a political message. His wife noted that "86' in some restaurants means they had run out of an ingredient. Comey remembered it was slang for saying something was boring and should be "ditched.' "And she said, 'You should take a picture of it.' So I took a picture of it, and then we walk home and she said, 'You should really put that on Instagram. It's kind of a cool thing.' I said, 'You're right. It's a cool thing,'' he explained. To many viewers, the numbers seemed to spell out 86 and 47. Merriam-Webster, the dictionary used by The Associated Press, says 86 is slang meaning "to throw out,' "to get rid of' or "to refuse service to.' It notes: "Among the most recent senses adopted is a logical extension of the previous ones, with the meaning of 'to kill.'' Trump is the country's 47th president. "Some hours later she (Patrice) said to me, 'You know, people on the internet are saying you're calling for the assassination of Donald Trump," Comey explained. "And I said, 'Well, if they're saying that, I'm taking it down because I don't want any part of violence.'"
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Business Standard
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
James Comey calls Instagram post controversy 'bit of a distraction'
Former FBI director James Comey says that he's still a bit bewildered over how a seemingly innocent Instagram shot of shells arranged in the sand led to allegations by Donald Trump among others that he was calling for the president's assassination and to an interview with the Secret Service. It's been a bit of a distraction, honestly, Comey said with a weary laugh Monday night during an appearance at a Barnes & Noble on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Comey was promoting FDR Drive, a crime novel coming out this week. One of the book's themes, ironically, is weighing the potential of speech to incite others to violence. Comey, whom Trump fired in 2017 amid an FBI investigation into potential ties between Russia and Trump's first presidential campaign, explained Monday that he and his wife, Patrice, had been returning from a walk on the beach last Thursday when they came upon some shells organised in a way that resembled numbers, including 86. They speculated over whether it was a home address, or a political message. His wife noted that 86 in some restaurants means they had run out of an ingredient. Comey remembered it was slang for saying something was boring and should be ditched. And she said, 'You should take a picture of it.' So I took a picture of it, and then we walk home and she said, 'You should really put that on Instagram. It's kind of a cool thing.' I said, 'You're right. It's a cool thing,' he explained. To many viewers, the numbers seemed to spell out 86 and 47. Merriam-Webster, the dictionary used by The Associated Press, says 86 is slang meaning to throw out, to get rid of or to refuse service to. It notes: Among the most recent senses adopted is a logical extension of the previous ones, with the meaning of 'to kill.' Trump is the country's 47th president. Some hours later she (Patrice) said to me, 'You know, people on the internet are saying you're calling for the assassination of Donald Trump," Comey explained. And I said, 'Well, if they're saying that, I'm taking it down because I don't want any part of violence.'" Comey quickly pulled the image, but it had already reached the attention of Trump and other administration officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel. Trump himself, interviewed on Friday on Fox News, said that Comey "knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant. If you're the FBI director and you don't know what that meant, that meant assassination. And it says it loud and clear. Comey confirmed Monday that he received a call from the Secret Service later Thursday, spoke to them on the phone and agreed to meet with them in person. "And so they gave me a ride to their headquarters, the Washington field office interviewed me," he said. It seems like a year ago, but it was Friday, right? I told them what I just told you. And so I, it seems like a thing that I don't fully understand and maybe it'll go away now." Comey has written several books since Trump fired him, including the million-selling memoir A Higher Loyalty. More recently, he has taken up fiction, his previous novels including Central Park Drive and Westport.
Time of India
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
'It's been a distraction, honestly': Ex-FBI head James Comey on row over '8647' Instagram post
James Comey; Donald Trump Ex-FBI director James Comey is still a "bit bewildered" over how an Instagram shot of shells arranged in the sand led to allegations by Donald Trump among others he was calling for the US president's "assassination. " 'It's been a bit of a distraction, honestly,' Comey said with a laugh in Manhattan, while promoting 'FDR Drive,' a crime novel releasing this week. Comey, whom Trump fired in 2017 amid an FBI investigation into potential ties between Russia and the Republican's first presidential campaign, explained he and his wife, Patrice, were returning from a walk on the beach last Thursday when they came upon some shells organized in a way that resembled the numbers 86 and 47. The couple speculated over whether it was a residential address or a political message. Patrice noted that '86' in some restaurants means they had run out of an ingredient. Comey remembered it was slang for saying something was boring and should be 'ditched.' 'And she told me to take a picture of it.' So I did and then we walk home and she asked me to put the photo on Instagram as its kind of a cool thing. I replied, 'You're right. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free P2,000 GCash eGift UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo It's a cool thing',' he stated. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, 86 is a slang meaning 'to throw out,' 'to get rid of' or 'to refuse service to.' the dictionary notes: 'Among the most recent senses adopted is a logical extension of the previous ones, with the meaning of 'to kill.'' Trump is America's 47th president. Comey then recalled Patrice telling him how the image was being interpreted as a call to assassinate Trump, who was shot at during a rally in Buffalo, Pennsylvania in July 2024, ahead of the November 5 presidential election, which the Republican would go on to win. 'Some hours later she (Patrice) said, 'You know, people on the internet are saying you're calling for the assassination of Donald Trump. And I said, 'Well, if they're saying that, I'm taking it down because I don't want any part of violence'." Comey quickly pulled the photo, but it had already reached the attention of Trump and other administration officials, including Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem and FBI's current head, Kash Patel. Trump himself has alleged Comey "knew exactly what that (8647) meant." Comey also confirmed he received a call from the Secret Service and agreed to meet with them in person. "And so they (Secret Service) gave me a ride to their headquarters, the Washington field office interviewed me. I told them what I just told you. And so I, it seems like a thing that I don't fully understand and maybe it'll go away now."
