Don’t make jokes about 86-ing the President of the United States – especially if you’re a former FBI director who was fired by said president. James Comey learned that lesson the hard way after he posted a photo of seashells that wrote out the numbers “86 47.”
The former FBI director attempted to clear up his viral photo on Tuesday night’s episode of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” saying he and his wife Patrice Failor didn’t write out the message but found it on the beach. After speculating that the numbers may have been an address, Failor, who has extensive restaurant experience, remembered “86” was back-of-the-house code for running out of an item, and subsequently used to mean banning a customer from a bar.
But in other circles, it’s can also be used as slang for killing someone.
“I said, ‘I think it’s a clever political message.’ And she said, ‘You should take a picture of it,’” Comedy explained. “And boom.”
Sure enough, that post led to Comey being called by federal authorities. Trump previously said that Comey “knew exactly what he meant” when he posted that photo. Hours after the post took off, Comey deleted it, writing on Instagram, “I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence.”
“The Secret Service called me that night. I talked to an on duty agent. They asked me if I’d come and be interviewed. I said, ‘Of course.’ So I went and met with them and told them — like this interview. And I hope and expect that’s the end of it,” Comey explained.
The former FBI head said the agents acted like “pros.” “[They asked] what did you intend? What did you understand? Why did you do this? And I gave them the exact same explanation, which is the truth,” Comey said.
“Well congratulations on the attention for your book,” Colbert said, showing off Comey’s novel, which he was on the show to promote.
During Comey’s interview with Colbert, the former federal head revealed that several members of the FBI have told him they are “struggling” under the current Trump administration.
“They’re worried about the reality and the reputation of the FBI right now and they’re hunkering down most of all,” Comey said. He also spoke out against Trump’s pardon of the Jan. 6 rioters, calling the move, “an obscenity that will stain this country forever.” Watch the full interview above.
