FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino on Sunday slammed former bureau chief James Comey, calling him out for a now-deleted Instagram post many saw as threatening towards Donald Trump.
Comey, who led the FBI from 2013 until he was dismissed by Trump in 2017, caused a storm last week after posting a cryptic image of seashells arranged to read “86 47”. The number “86” is widely interpreted to mean “get rid of”, and Trump is the 47th US president.
The post was quickly removed, but not before sparking outrage.
Bongino said that current FBI Director Kash Patel and he are 'cleaning up messes' left behind by Comey.
“Former FBI Director James Comey brought shame to the FBI badge, yet again, this past week,” Bongino wrote in a post on X. “The Director and I spend an inordinate amount of time cleaning up messes left behind by former Director Comey. And his latest actions are no exception.”
Comey denied any violent intent, saying, “It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.” In a further statement, he added, “I didn’t realise some folks associate those numbers with violence.”
But Trump rejected that explanation. “He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant,” Trump told Fox News. “If you’re the FBI director, and you don’t know what that meant, that meant ‘assassination,’ and it says it loud and clear.”
The Secret Service has since interviewed Comey about the post, while FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed the bureau was “in communication with the Secret Service and Director Curran” regarding the matter.
Bongino didn’t hold back in his assessment of Comey’s legacy. “As the Deputy Director of the FBI, I am charged, standing with Director Patel, with managing the most powerful law enforcement agency in the world,” he wrote. “The Director and I are also responsible for looking at grave mistakes made by people within the FBI in the past, and ensuring they never happen again.”
While Bongino emphasised the FBI does not directly investigate threats against the president, he said the agency has “the ability and authority to support other federal agencies for violations of federal law. And we certainly have a responsibility to comment on matters involving former FBI officials, and allegations of law-breaking.”
He and Patel also hinted at more revelations to come, especially regarding past FBI operations like Crossfire Hurricane and the Capitol riot investigations. “I cannot post openly about all the things the Director and I are doing to reform the enterprise, but I assure you, they are happening,” he said. “Sadly, many of those agenda items are the result of former Director Comey’s poor decision-making and atrocious leadership.”
Bongino explained that he chose to speak out now because his interview with Maria Bartiromo, airing Sunday, was recorded before Comey’s post emerged. He ended his statement with a patriotic message: “God bless America, and all those who defend Her.”
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