Lawyers for former FBI Director James Comey have accused federal investigators of misleading judges, submitting false statements and withholding key facts, in a series of court motions seeking to dismiss the case charging him with threatening President Donald Trump on social media.
The filings, submitted late Tuesday in federal court, characterize the prosecution as vindictive and selective, arguing that Trump’s public animosity toward one of his most prominent critics drove the charges. The defense also alleges that the Secret Service conducted “unlawful” surveillance of Comey during the investigation.
“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,” his lawyers wrote.
The case stems from an Instagram photo Comey posted last year showing seashells he said he found on a North Carolina beach, arranged to read “86 47.” The Justice Department contends the image amounted to a threat against Trump, the 47th president, interpreting “86” as slang for eliminating or getting rid of someone.
Comey deleted the post shortly after publishing it, saying he had not realized anyone might read it as a call to violence. He was formally charged in April.
The new motions request access to grand jury transcripts to expose what the defense calls “irregularities” in how the indictment was secured. They build on an earlier filing this week that argued the social media post constituted protected political speech rather than a genuine threat.
Together, the motions form a multipronged effort to dismantle the case. Comey’s legal team has cast the prosecution as part of a broader retribution campaign by the Trump administration against perceived opponents. This development comes as several high-profile cases linked to the administration’s critics and to prior political disputes have drawn scrutiny in recent months, including Comey’s own request to have the charges thrown out on free-speech grounds.
Prosecutors have not yet responded in detail to the latest allegations. The Justice Department has maintained that the photo met the legal threshold for a threat against a sitting president.
Comey led the FBI from 2013 until Trump dismissed him in 2017, a firing that became a flashpoint in investigations into the president’s first term. He has since remained an outspoken commentator on Trump and federal law enforcement.
A federal judge is expected to weigh the dismissal motions in the coming weeks. The outcome could determine whether the case proceeds to trial or is dismissed before a jury is ever seated.