Blanche denies that Trump directed Comey prosecution: "Of course not"

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday denied that President Trump directed the Justice Department to pursue the latest charges against former FBI Director James Comey . "Of course not, absolutely, positively not," Blanche said on "CBS Mornings" when asked if Mr. Trump directed him to pursue the case against Comey. "This is something that has been investigated for nearly a year now, and the results of that investigation is that a grand jury returned an indictment." A grand jury on Tuesday indicted Comey, alleging that an Instagram post that said "86 47" in seashells was a threat to assassinate Mr. Trump. After receiving backlash online for sharing the photo in May 2025, Comey quickly deleted the post and explained he thought it was a political message and "didn't realize some folks associate those numbers with violence." The indictment states that a "reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances" would interpret the depiction of the shells in the photo "as a serious expression of an intent to do harm to President Trump." Comey was indicted in the Eastern District of North Carolina. The indictment is signed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Petracca, and the case is assigned to Judge Louise Wood Flanagan. An arrest warrant for Comey's arrest was also issued. Comey posted a video statement on Tuesday proclaiming his innocence. …