Court Battles

Comey on Justice Department case: Blanche needs to ‘bone up on the rules’

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by Ashleigh Fields - 05/17/26 12:16 PM ET

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by Ashleigh Fields - 05/17/26 12:16 PM ET

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James Comey on Sunday urged Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to “bone up on the rules” amid the federal prosecution of the former FBI director.

“I don’t talk about the case because the federal court rules require you not. I would urge the acting attorney general to bone up on the rules,” Comey said during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” when asked about the case.

Comey has been indicted on two counts over allegations that a photo of seashells he shared on Instagram constituted a threat on President Trump’s life.

During an interview with NBC earlier this month, Blanche addressed questions about the investigation into the social media post, which included a photo of seashells in a formation reading “86 47.”

“This is not just about a single Instagram post,” Blanche told NBC’s Kristen Welker. “This is about a body of evidence that the grand jury collected over a series of about 11 months.”

On Sunday, Comey said Blanche shouldn’t be speaking on the case and declined to respond to the remark.

“I don’t want to comment on it because then someone will say I’m commenting on the case. He ought not to be talking about it, I can’t talk about it,” Comey told Welker.

“That’s why we have a judicial process in a courtroom,” he added.

The Justice Department previously charged the former FBI director for making a false statements and obstruction in a 2020 testimony he gave before the Senate.

However, a judge threw out the case after determining that the federal prosecutor, former U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, was unlawfully appointed to her position.

Comey has argued the prosecutions have been political retribution and remained critical of the president.

On Sunday, the former FBI director defended his Instagram post when asked if he should maintain impartiality as the former head of a law enforcement agency.

“I’m a private citizen. I saw a shell in the fall of 2024 where someone wrote an endorsement of Kamala Harris in a big seashell. I took a picture of it, I thought it was very clever, and I think I wrote, ‘Ariel understands the assignment,’ a reference to ‘[The] Little Mermaid,’” Comey told Welker.

“I’m a private citizen. Again, I’m not going to talk about that particular post, but I use Instagram the way any awkward, nerdy dad would,” he added.

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