Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche hinted that there is more evidence in the case against former FBI Director James Comey than his infamous seashell Instagram post.
Comey, who surrendered himself at a federal courthouse in the Eastern District of Virginia on Wednesday, is facing federal charges of threatening the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.
The charges stem from an Instagram post the former FBI director made last May featuring seashells arranged to spell out '8647.'
The phrase '8647' has been adopted by radical anti-Trumpers. The president and his allies have characterized the term as a call for his assassination.
The number 86 is slang for removing or getting rid of something, though it can also mean to kill. Trump is the 47th President.
However, Blanche told NBC News' Meet the Press on Sunday that there is much more to the case against Comey than the Instagram post.
'Every case requires an investigation, what you just showed is one part of the ins investigation, the Instagram post, the career FBI agents, the career Secret Service agents that investigated this case just didn't look at this Instagram post and walk away,' he said.
'I'm not permitted to get into the details on what the grand jury heard or found, but rest assured it's not the Instagram post that leads somebody to get indicted.'
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche hinted that there is more evidence in the case against former FBI Director James Comey
Comey is facing federal charges of threatening the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce
The charges stem from an Instagram post the former FBI director made last May featuring seashells arranged to spell out '8647'
Blanche added, 'This is not just about a single Instagram post. This is about a body of evidence that [prosecutors] collected over the series of about 11 months. That evidence was presented to the grand jury.'
The acting attorney general also said that similar threats against Trump are posted all the time and those people are not prosecuted, meaning there is more to the case against Comey.
'That’s posted constantly. That phrase is used constantly. There are constantly men and women who choose to make threatening statements against President Trump. Every one of those statements do not result in indictment,' Blanche said.
'Every single case depends on the investigation, of course the seashells are part of that case, that's what the pubic sees, but without a doubt, it should be evident by the fact that it has been 11 months since the posting and the indictment, there is an investigation that takes place.'
Comey, who did not enter a plea on Wednesday, denied the charges against him in a video message on Substack.
'I'm still innocent, I'm still not afraid, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary, so let's go,' he said.
Judge William Fitzpatrick allowed Comey to leave without placing conditions on his release.
Comey's attorneys plan to file motions accusing the DOJ of selectively and vindictively prosecuting him at the President's direction.
Blanche said that similar threats against Trump are posted all the time and those people are not prosecuted, meaning there is more to the case against Comey
Trump has called Comey a 'dirty cop' and claimed the ex-FBI boss may have lied to the bureau about using 'mob' language to threaten the commander-in-chief
Comey has denied the charges against him and his attorneys plan to file motions accusing the DOJ of selectively and vindictively prosecuting him at the President's direction
Trump has called Comey a 'dirty cop' and claimed the ex-FBI boss may have lied to the bureau about using 'mob' language to threaten the commander-in-chief.
'"86" is a mob term for "kill him,"' Trump said on Wednesday night. 'They say 86 him! 86 47 means "kill President Trump,"' he said on Truth Social.
Trump added: 'James Comey, who is a Dirty Cop, one of the worst, knows this full well! EIGHT MILES OUT, SIX FEET DOWN!'
The president then pondered whether Comey had lied to investigators about his familiarity of the phrase.
'Didn’t he also lie to the FBI about this??? I think so!'
Comey posted the controversial photo last year with the caption: 'Cool shell formation on my beach walk.' He later deleted the post the same day and apologized.