Former FBI Director James Comey might get to skip a second court appearance on charges that he threatened President Donald Trump with a photo of seashells. A federal judge in North Carolina on Thursday conditionally agreed to cancel the hearing after Comey said he already appeared before a judge in Virginia on the same allegations.
According to an Associated Press report, Comey asked the court to call off the North Carolina hearing because he made an initial appearance last week in Alexandria, Virginia. His lawyers argued that federal criminal procedure rules provide for "an initial appearance in the singular," making another one unnecessary. The Justice Department supported the request, according to Comey's attorneys.
U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan, appointed by former President George W. Bush, said she would cancel the hearing if Comey files a waiver by Friday. If he does not, the hearing will proceed as scheduled in Greenville, North Carolina. Comey's lawyers had said he would sign any waiver needed "to give the Court additional comfort if the Court so desires."
Comey faces two charges tied to a social media photo of seashells spelling out "86 47," which prosecutors say amounted to a threat against Trump. The phrase "86" is commonly used as slang for removing or throwing out something or someone, and Trump is the 47th president.
Comey has not entered a plea and has denied wrongdoing. When he posted the photo last May, he said he viewed it as a "political message" and did not understand that the numbers could be read as violent. He later deleted the post.
The charges—making a threat against the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce—require proof that Comey "knowingly and willfully" threatened to "take the life of" Trump. Each count carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
Notably, the case marks the second criminal prosecution Comey has faced since Trump returned to office. Comey, fired as FBI director in 2017, became one of Trump's most prominent adversaries after that dismissal became part of former special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.
Comey previously faced false statement and obstruction charges tied to a 2020 congressional testimony about FBI leaks. A judge dismissed that case after finding the prosecutor who pursued it had been unlawfully appointed. The Trump administration has appealed the dismissal.
