New York (AP) – Former FBI director James Comey said he is still a little perplexed on how an apparently innocent Instagram blow was organized in the sand led to allegations by Donald Trump Among other things, he called for the assassination of the president and an interview with the secret services.
“It was a bit of a distraction, honestly,” said Comey with a tired laugh on Monday evening during an appearance at Barnes & Noble in the Haut Side of Manhattan.
Comey promoted “FDR Drive”, a crime novel that comes out this week. Ironically, one of the themes of the book weighs the potential of speech to encourage others to violence.
Comey, who Trump fired in 2017 In the midst of an FBI investigation into the potential links between Russia and Trump’s first presidential campaign, said on Monday that he and his wife, Patrice, had returned from a walk on the beach last Thursday when they came across the shells organized in a way that looked like numbers, including “86”.
They speculated to find out if it was a home address or a political message. His wife noted that “86” in some restaurants means that they had lacked an ingredient. Comey remembers that it was the slang for saying that something was boring and should be “abandoned”.
“And she said,” You should take a photo. “So I took a photo, then we come home and she said,” You should really put this on Instagram. I said, “You are right.
For many viewers, the numbers seemed to spell 86 and 47. Merriam-Webster, the dictionary used by the Associated Press, says 86 is the slang It means “throwing”, “getting rid of” or “refusing service to”. He notes: “Among the most recent senses adopted is a logical extension of the previous ones, with the meaning of” killing “.”
Trump is the 47th president of the country.
“A few hours later, she (Patrice) said to me:” You know, people on the internet say that you are asking for the assassination of Donald Trump, “said Comey.” And I said: “Well, if they say that, I get it because I don’t want violence.” ”
Comey quickly pulled the image, but he had already reached Trump’s attention and other administration officials, including the Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and FBI director Kash Patel. Trump himself, interviewed on Friday on Fox News, said that Comey “knew exactly what it meant. A child knows what it meant. If you are the director of the FBI and you don’t know what it meant, it meant the assassination. And that said it strong and clear.”
Comey confirmed on Monday that he had received a call from the secret services later Thursday, spoke to them on the phone and agreed to meet them in person.
“And so they gave me a turn to their headquarters, Washington Field’s office interviewed me,” he said. “It seems a year ago, but it was Friday, right?” I told them what I just told you. And so me, it seems to be something that I do not fully understand and maybe it will disappear now. ”
Comey wrote several books since Trump dismissed him, including the millions of a million sales “a higher loyalty”. More recently, he resumed fiction, his previous novels, including “Central Park Drive” and “Westport”.
