FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino strongly criticized the bureau’s ex-director James Comey for a mysterious “86 47” message he crafted using seashells, which he shared on Instagram on Friday.
Bongino, who served as a Secret Service agent and is now a conservative radio talk show host, slammed Comey as a representation of what he sees as the failed leadership that impacts the FBI’s reputation.
“Once again, Former FBI Director James Comey has tarnished the reputation of the FBI badge,” Bongino noted on X. “The Director and I frequently find ourselves addressing the issues left by former Director Comey, and his recent actions are just another example.”
Comey, an ardent critic of President Trump who led the FBI from 2013 to 2017, set off a firestorm with the Instagram post.
The phrase “86” is often used to mean “get rid of” something, particularly in the restaurant industry. Trump is the 47th president, and some of his allies suggested Comey was flirting with language that could incite people to violence.
The Secret Service later interviewed Comey and other top law enforcement officials said they were looking into the debacle.
“He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant,” Trump told Fox News’ Bret Baier Friday. “If you’re the FBI director, and you don’t know what that meant, that meant ‘assassination,’ and it says it loud and clear.”
Trump has survived two high-profile assassination attempts, including the July 13, 2024, Butler, Pa., attempt in which a bullet knicked his upper right ear.
Comey has since taken the post down.
“It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down,” Comey said after removing the image from his Instagram account.
But Bongino seemed unmoved in his contempt against Comey.
“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. 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,” he added.
“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. Sadly, many of those agenda items are the result of former Director Comey’s poor decision-making and atrocious leadership.”
FBI director Kash Patel said Friday that the bureau would provide the Secret Service with any assistance needed to address Comey’s post.
Patel and Bongino teased that more information is coming to the public soon about the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and government investigations of the Trump campaign.
“I’m just telling you, right now, as much as we know about Crossfire Hurricane, he and I just found out more last week,” Patel told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” “That’s how vindictive and vicious the former leadership structure here was.”
“Not only did they bastardize the FISA process and lie to the American public, they withheld and hid documentation and put it in rooms where people weren’t supposed to look,” he added. “It’s a good thing we’re here now to clean it up, and you’re about to see a wave of transparency.”
Patel did not elaborate on what specific information about Crossfire Hurricane, the FBI probe of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, or the Capitol riot would be coming.
“Just give us about a week or two,” he teased on the release of the materials.
Bongino also defended his and Patel’s efforts to get that material to the public against critics who argue it’s been taking too long.
“Listen, we have been here two months,” Bongino told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” “You’re dealing with a 38,000-member organization and an approximately $12 billion budget.”
“I’m not asking you to trust me,” he added. “You want this done right or you want it done quickly? Because you can’t have it both ways.”
