{"id":3270,"date":"2026-07-27T17:40:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T17:40:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=3270"},"modified":"2026-07-27T17:40:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T17:40:07","slug":"citing-common-sense-james-comeys-team-urges-judge-to-toss-seashells-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=3270","title":{"rendered":"Citing \u2018common sense,\u2019 James Comey\u2019s team urges judge to toss seashells case"},"content":{"rendered":"

Attorneys for James Comey have asked a federal judge to dismiss the seashells-based prosecution of the former FBI director, arguing that \u201cdictionaries, context, precedent, and common sense\u201d gut the Trump administration\u2019s claim that a photo he posted on Instagram could possibly constitute an actual threat against President Donald Trump. <\/p>

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If the case were to survive the legal challenges, it would go to trial in October. Comey was indicted by a grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina in April. Prosecutors argued that an image he posted online of seashells grouped in the formation of the numbers \u201c86 47\u201d was a threat against the president. Matthew Petracca, a rookie federal prosecutor and former Republican official who first brought the case, has since moved off the case.<\/p>

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The term \u201c86\u201d is widely understood to be a restaurant term meaning to be out of something. Trump is the 47th president. <\/p>

Comey\u2019s team argued in a court filing Monday that no reasonable person aware of the relevant context would read the phrase as a suggestion of violence and that \u2014 even if it could be read that way \u2014 \u201ca reasonable observer would still understand Mr. Comey\u2019s post as mere political hyperbole, not a true threat.\u201d <\/p>

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