Newly released federal court filings reveal that Secret Service officials tracked James Comey from North Carolina to Virginia without a warrant after the former FBI director posted photos of seashells spelling “86 47” on Instagram in May 2025, according to documents filed as part of Comey’s effort to dismiss the charges against him.
The court filings also show that President Donald Trump was actively following the investigation into his longtime critic from Air Force One, with one agent messaging that the case “is a hot topic” on the president’s aircraft and that Trump “is very interested.”
According to a Secret Service email from May 2025, a special agent initially acknowledged that tracking Comey’s phone would be “legally questionable” and required declaring an “exigency exemption” claiming an imminent threat to life or limb. The agent noted at the time: “We did not believe that anyone’s life was in immediate danger and legally it was a bad idea to ping the phone.” Yet the agent also stated “we might anyway,” the filings show.
Following pressure from the Justice Department, the Secret Service issued an emergency request to Verizon to track Comey, citing “an emergency involving danger of death or serious physical injury to a person, necessitating disclosure without delay.” Secret Service agents also began physically surveilling Comey as he and his wife drove north on Interstate 95, though agents lost contact when the Comeys stopped to visit the cemetery where their son is buried.
Trump wanted a copy of the agent’s notes from the first interview with Comey specifically so he could use them in a press conference later that day, according to the filings. One agent’s message indicated that Trump’s interest in the case was substantial and ongoing from the presidential aircraft.
Building the Case Through Unconventional Witnesses
The court filings reveal the witnesses the Justice Department used to build its case against Comey. Investigators interviewed an unnamed person who knew Comey’s wife and who claimed the seashell photo was a call to violence against Trump. The unnamed individual said they wished they had “something more” to tell agents so that Comey and family members would “face consequences.”
The prosecution also relied on interviews with Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano, a former Gambino crime family underboss and cooperating witness from cases Comey prosecuted as a young prosecutor. Gravano told FBI agents that Comey must know the term “86” related to killing someone. However, two retired FBI agents who worked organized crime cases in New York said the term was not used, to their recollection, to refer to killing.
The filings from Comey’s attorneys state there are no references to the term “86” in old case files from Comey’s prosecution work against the Gambinos. FBI agents also searched for “86” in FBI databases, ChatGPT, and Merriam-Webster dictionary online as they built their case, the court documents show.
Comey was indicted in April 2026 on charges of making threats against the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. In a motion filed on July 27, Comey’s attorneys argued that the seashell post does not represent a “true threat” and falls within First Amendment protections. They also argue the prosecution is selective and vindictive, noting that Trump has publicly pressured the Justice Department to prosecute his longtime critic.
Sources
- CNN — Reported on newly released Secret Service emails and court filings showing Comey’s tracking and Trump’s interest in the case
- KTEN — Detailed the Secret Service surveillance, phone tracking emergency request, and witness interviews including Sammy the Bull
- Federal Court Filings — Provided direct evidence of tracking concerns, emergency Verizon requests, and witness statements
