Blanche denies that Trump directed Comey prosecution: “Of course not”
Acting AG Blanche addresses Comey’s indictment and says Trump did not direct her to pursue case 05:31
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche denied Wednesday that President Trump directed the Justice Department to pursue the investigation. Latest accusations against former FBI Director James Comey.
“Of course not, absolutely not,” Blanche said on “CBS Mornings” when asked if Mr. Trump had directed her to pursue the case against Comey. “This is a matter that has been investigated for almost a year, and the results of that investigation are that the grand jury returned the indictment.”
On Tuesday, a grand jury indicted Comey, alleging that an Instagram post with “86 47” written on seashells constituted an assassination threat against Mr. Trump. Comey, who received reaction on the internet for sharing the photo in May 2025, immediately deleted the post and explained he thought it was a political message and “didn’t realize that some people associated those numbers with violence.”
The indictment states that “a reasonable purchaser, knowing the circumstances,” would interpret the depiction of bullets in the photo as “a serious expression of intent to harm President Trump.”
Comey was indicted in the Eastern District of North Carolina. The indictment was signed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Petracca and the case was assigned to Judge Louise Wood Flanagan. One arrest warrant A broadcast was also made for Comey’s arrest.
Comey released a video statement Tuesday declaring his innocence.
Blanche said Wednesday that the indictment came from the grand jury and that the charges were not politically motivated, adding, “Look at the indictment.”
“If anyone in this country, especially given what’s happened over the last few years with President Trump, thinks it’s OK for anyone to threaten the president of the United States and then have the media or others say it’s not serious, then we have a bigger problem in this country than I even imagined,” Blanche said.
“Anyone who tries to push a narrative that this is just about seashells or something else is missing the point. You can’t threaten the president of the United States,” Blanche insisted.
This is the second time the Justice Department has attempted to sue Comey. A. grand jury indicted him He was arrested in September on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice related to Senate testimony he gave almost five years ago. accusations were made In November, a federal judge said Lindsey Halligan, the attorney general in eastern Virginia who filed the indictment against Comey, was unlawfully appointed to the job.
When pressed by CBS News’ Major Garrett about conservatives who posted similar images about former President Joe Biden, Blanche said “every investigation is different.”
“Every day there are comments about President Trump, threats are made against President Trump, none of them are being charged,” Blanche said. “It depends on the facts of the case.”
