Former FBI director Comey again indicted by US Justice Department

Trump has long called for the prosecution of Comey, who led an FBI investigation related to the president’s 2016 campaign.Former FBI Director James Comey has again been indicted by the United States Department of Justice, this time over a social media post that officials have said constituted a threat to President Donald Trump.The indictment on Tuesday comes after an earlier Justice Department criminal case against Comey fell apart last year.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Jack Smith testifies to US Congress while Trump calls for his prosecutionlist 2 of 3Six key takeaways from Jack Smith’s testimony on his case against Trumplist 3 of 3Epstein files: The arrests and the resignationsend of listTrump has long called for prosecuting his political opponents, with a particular emphasis on Comey, who oversaw the early days of an investigation into whether Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign had coordinated with Russia.The latest prosecution relates to a social media post by Comey showing a photo of seashells arranged on a beach in the shape of “86 47”. The photo was posted nearly a year ago.The term “86” is typically used in the restaurant industry to refer to throwing something out, although it is sometimes used as a slang term to “kill”. Trump is currently serving a term as the 47th president of the US.Comey has previously been interviewed by the Secret Service and wrote on social media that he did not know that “some folks associate those numbers with violence”.“I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down,” he said.The two-count indictment charges Comey with “knowingly and willfully” making a threat to “take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon” Trump and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.It does not provide any evidence to support the claim that Comey knowingly made a threat against the president, instead maintaining that a “reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances would interpret” the message as a threat to do harm.