Former FBI director James Comey calls controversy over Instagram post ‘a bit of a distraction’
By HILLEL ITALIE Associated Press NEW YORK AP Former FBI director James Comey says that he s still a bit bewildered over how a seemingly innocent Instagram shot of shells arranged in the sand led to assertions by Donald Trump among others that he was calling for the president s assassination and to an interview with the Secret System It s been a bit of a distraction honestly Comey announced with a weary laugh Monday night during an appearance at a Barnes Noble on Manhattan s Upper West Side Comey was promoting FDR Drive a crime novel coming out this week One of the book s themes ironically is weighing the promising of speech to incite others to violence Related Articles Trump expected to announce Golden Dome space missile defenses that will cost billions More tornadoes and fewer meteorologists make for a dangerous mix that s worrying US agents Elon Musk says he will cut back on political spending after heavily backing Trump in Trump officers set new requirements for COVID vaccines in healthy adults and children Races for Philly district attorney and Pittsburgh mayor take center stage in Pennsylvania s primary Comey whom Trump fired in amid an FBI review into likely ties between Russia and Trump s first presidential campaign explained Monday that he and his wife Patrice had been returning from a walk on the beach last Thursday when they came upon specific shells organized in a way that resembled numbers including They speculated over whether it was a home address or a political message His wife noted that in various restaurants means they had run out of an ingredient Comey remembered it was slang for saying something was boring and should be ditched And she announced You should take a picture of it So I took a picture of it and then we walk home and she stated You should really put that on Instagram It s kind of a cool thing I reported You re right It s a cool thing he explained To multiple viewers the numbers seemed to spell out and Merriam-Webster the dictionary used by The Associated Press says is slang meaning to throw out to get rid of or to refuse provision to It notes Among the preponderance modern senses adopted is a logical extension of the previous ones with the meaning of to kill Trump is the country s th president Particular hours later she Patrice announced to me You know people on the internet are saying you re calling for the assassination of Donald Trump Comey explained And I noted Well if they re saying that I m taking it down because I don t want any part of violence Comey hurriedly pulled the image but it had already reached the attention of Trump and other administration administrators including Homeland Prevention Secretary Kristi Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel Trump himself interviewed on Friday on Fox News revealed that Comey knew exactly what that meant A child knows what that meant If you re the FBI director and you don t know what that meant that meant assassination And it says it loud and clear Comey ratified Monday that he received a call from the Secret Institution later Thursday spoke to them on the phone and agreed to meet with them in person And so they gave me a ride to their headquarters the Washington field office interviewed me he stated It seems like a year ago but it was Friday right I recounted them what I just described you And so I it seems like a thing that I don t fully understand and maybe it ll go away now Comey has written several books since Trump fired him including the million-selling memoir A Higher Loyalty More in recent months he has taken up fiction his previous novels including Central Park Drive and Westport
