Blanche Says Others Who Post '86 47' Message Won't Be Charged Like Comey [View all]

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https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/03/us/politics/blanche-comey-indictment-seashells.html

Blanche Says Others Who Post ‘86 47’ Message Won’t Be Charged Like Comey
The acting attorney general said such messages were “posted constantly” and said the Justice Department had gathered other evidence against the former F.B.I. director, but declined to describe it.
By Devlin Barrett
May 3, 2026 Updated 11:38 a.m. ET

Asked on NBC’s “Meet The Press” whether others who displayed the same numbers, or bought or sold T-shirts with the same message, would face the same prosecution, Mr. Blanche said no.

The “86 47” message, Mr. Blanche said, is “posted constantly — that phrase is used constantly.” He added, “Every one of those statements do not result in indictments.” What makes Mr. Comey’s case different, he argued, is other evidence collected, which he said he could not describe.

“Of course the seashells are part of that case,” said Mr. Blanche, who acknowledged that proving Mr. Comey’s intent would be crucial to his prosecution. “You prove intent with witnesses; you prove intent with documents,” he said, adding that there was “a body of evidence” that led to Mr. Comey’s indictment. The three-page indictment, secured on Tuesday, was focused only on the seashell post.

Senator Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California, appeared later on the show and said there was only one thing that distinguished Mr. Comey’s case from other examples of people using the phrase: “the fact that James Comey is a political opponent of the president; it’s the fact that the president has called on him for prosecution; it’s the fact that Todd Blanche wants to keep his job.”

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