Former FBI Director James Comey appeared in a Virginia federal court today, a day after he was indicted for an Instagram post that prosecutors said was threatening to President Donald Trump.
Comey made no statements during the brief hearing. His lawyer, Patrick Fitzgerald, said that in his view this was a “vindictive prosecution,” meaning the government was seeking to punish Comey for exercising his legal rights.
Judge William Fitzpatrick ordered the former federal police chief released without setting any conditions. His next hearing will be in North Carolina, where a grand jury indicted him Tuesday.
Last year, the Justice Department prosecuted Comey in another case, which was eventually dropped.
The charges he faces this time carry a sentence of up to five years in prison.
The case involves a photo that Comey posted on Instagram last May, which showed shells forming the numbers “86 47.” The first one, in focus slang, can mean “get rid of” or “throw out.” The number 47 may refer to Trump, as the 47th president of the United States. According to the indictment, the recipient of the message could take it as a threat to Trump.
The president himself told reporters today that he considers “86” to be a “mafia term. “People think it’s something related to disappearances but the mafia uses it to say they want to kill somebody,” he said. When asked if the post endangered his life, he replied, “Probably. I don’t know.”
