“It’s been a bit of a distraction, honestly,” Comey said with a weary laugh Monday night during an appearance at a Barnes & Noble on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
One of the book’s themes, ironically, is weighing the potential of speech to incite others to violence.
“Some hours later she (Patrice) said to me, ‘You know, people on the internet are saying you’re calling for the assassination of Donald Trump,” Comey explained.
Trump himself, interviewed on Friday on Fox News, said that Comey “knew exactly what that meant.
If you’re the FBI director and you don’t know what that meant, that meant assassination.
NEW YORK (AP) — James Comey, the former director of the FBI, says he’s still a little confused about how an Instagram photo of shells arranged in the sand led to an interview with the Secret Service and accusations of calling for the president’s assassination from Donald Trump and others.
When Comey made an appearance at a Barnes & Noble on Manhattan’s Upper West Side on Monday night, she laughed wearily and remarked, “It’s been a bit of a distraction, honestly.”.
Comey, who was fired by Trump in 2017 during an FBI investigation into possible connections between Russia and Trump’s first presidential campaign, said on Monday that he and his wife, Patrice, had discovered some shells arranged in a pattern resembling numbers, including “86,” while returning from a beach walk last Thursday. “.”.
They conjectured about whether it was a political message or a home address. “86” in some restaurants indicates that they have run out of an ingredient, according to his wife. It was slang for saying something was dull and ought to be “ditched,” Comey recalled. “”.
She then suggested that you snap a photo of it. After we walked home, I snapped a photo of it, and she suggested that I post it to Instagram. It’s kind of cool. “You’re right,” I said. “It’s a cool thing,” he said.
The numbers appeared to spell out 86 and 47 to a lot of viewers. Merriam-Webster, the dictionary that The Associated Press uses, states that 86 is slang that means “to refuse service to,” “to throw out,” or “to get rid of.”. It states: “To kill is one of the most recent senses adopted, which is a logical extension of the earlier ones. “”.
Trump is the 47th president of this nation.
“A few hours later, she (Patrice) told me, ‘You know, people on the internet are saying you’re calling for Donald Trump’s assassination,'” Comey said. When they said that, I responded, “Well, I’m taking it down because I don’t want any part of violence.”. ‘.”.
Trump and other administration officials, such as FBI Director Kash Patel and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, had already seen the photo before Comey swiftly removed it. In a Friday Fox News interview, Trump claimed that Comey “knew exactly what that meant.”. Children understand what that means. That meant assassination if you were the director of the FBI and you didn’t understand what it meant. And it makes that very clear. “.”.
Comey said on Monday that he met with the Secret Service in person after speaking with them over the phone and receiving a call from them later Thursday.
“They provided me with transportation to their headquarters, where I was interviewed by the Washington field office,” he stated. “I told them what I just told you, but it was Friday, right? It feels like a year ago.”. Therefore, it appears to be something I don’t fully comprehend, and perhaps it will now go away. “”.
Since Trump fired him, Comey has authored multiple books, including the best-selling memoir “A Higher Loyalty.”. He started writing fiction more recently; some of his earlier works are “Central Park Drive” and “Westport.”. “.”.
