What Happened
Federal prosecutors charged former FBI Director James Comey with threatening President Trump's life over a deleted Instagram post showing seashells arranged as "86 47." The DOJ claims "86" means "remove" and "47" refers to Trump as the 47th president. Comey says he didn't know what the numbers meant and deleted the post when he learned some people associated them with violence.
Why You Should Care
If posting cryptic numbers on Instagram can get you federal charges, your social media habits just became a lot more legally risky.
📚 The Basics
Federal crimes are actions that break laws created by the U.S. government, and they can lead to charges brought by federal prosecutors working for the Department of Justice (DOJ). The FBI is the main federal agency for investigating these crimes. If the DOJ believes someone committed a federal crime, they can bring charges and start a legal case against that person.
🧠 Look Smart At Dinner
Say This
This is the same prosecutor who got the previous charges thrown out because she wasn't even legally authorized to bring them.
Context
Judge Cameron Currie dismissed earlier charges against Comey because prosecutor Lindsey Halligan was a former White House aide with no prosecutorial experience who lacked authority to present cases to grand juries.
Avoid Saying
Don't say 'Comey should have known better' — the judge already ruled the previous prosecution was legally invalid.
The Approved Opinion™
“While social media posts should be taken seriously when they involve public figures, the justice system must ensure prosecutions are legally sound and not politically motivated.”
