James Comey's lawyers have filed new defence motions alleging misconduct by federal officials involved in his prosecution for threatening President Donald Trump through a photo posted on Instagram. The lawyers claim that government agents misled judges, submitted false documents, and withheld key facts, and also accuse the Secret Service of conducting "unlawful" electronic surveillance without a warrant on Comey's phone. According to the filings, investigators went to great lengths to prove that Comey intended a physical threat, but came up empty-handed and withheld this fact from magistrates. An interview with notorious mob killer Salvatore Gravano revealed that he did not recall discussing the term "86" with Comey.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-21,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Why this leaning score
The article uses words and phrases that imply bias against the government and Trump, such as 'vindictive and selective prosecution', 'misled judges', 'withheld key facts', and 'animus toward Mr. Comey'. The framing of the article also suggests that the prosecution is a personal attack on Comey rather than a legitimate investigation.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score -0.75 for article 108 · logged 2026-07-31
Ex-FBI director Comey's lawyer says government tracked his phone, interviewed mob killer
Comey's lawyers describe prosecutions as rooted in Trump's personal animus
Federal officials involved in the prosecution of former FBI director James Comey misled judges, submitted documents containing false statements and withheld key facts, according to new defence filings.
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officials → say → filings
Lawyers for Comey made the allegations of misconduct in motions filed this week that also call the case a vindictive and selective prosecution, including claims of "unlawful" surveillance of Comey by the Secret Service.
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that → make → Service
Comey was charged in April with threatening President Donald Trump, who fired him nine years ago, through a photo posted on Instagram of a seashell arrangement of the numbers "86 47" on a North Carolina beach in May 2025.
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who → charge → May
The Justice Department has said the photo constituted a threat against Trump, the 47th president, because "86" is shorthand for "kill,"and is making its second attempt to prosecute Comey for the alleged offence.
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86 → say → offence
Comey deleted the post shortly after he put it up, saying he did not know that anyone interpreted the numbers as a call to violence.
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anyone → delete → violence
As Comey returned to Washington with his wife within hours of the post to be interviewed by law enforcement, Secret Service agents were directed to conduct "unlawful" electronic surveillance without a warrant, "including as [the Comeys] stopped to visit the grave of their deceased son," his lawyers said.
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lawyers → return → son
The request for such exigency tracking, as it is called, came at the behest of a senior Justice Department official, they said.
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they → call → official
Comey's lawyers describe the prosecutions as rooted in Trump's personal animus.
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lawyers → describe → animus
The Secret Service closely co-ordinated with the Justice Department and with Trump himself about Comey's subsequent interview about the seashells, according to Comey's lawyers.
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Service → co → lawyers
They also claim the president was sent frequent updates on Air Force One and had asked to be briefed.
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president → claim → One
"Ample objective evidence — much of which comes directly from government officials' own public statements and admissions — establishes that the President's animus toward Mr. Comey led to this vindictive and selective prosecution," Comey's lawyers wrote in one of the filings.
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lawyers → come → filings
Notorious mob killer interviewed
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killer → interview → ?
Defence lawyers said investigators went to extraordinary lengths trying to prove that Comey intended a physical threat, or knew that the number 86 suggested violence, and repeatedly came up empty but withheld that fact from federal magistrates, as they applied for warrants to search the digital accounts associated with Comey and his wife.
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they → say → Comey
An FBI agent also requested a review of the FBI file for the case against reputed mobster John Gotti, of the Gambino crime family, which Comey worked on as a young prosecutor, but found no references to the term 86.
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Comey → request → term
Investigators also interviewed a key government co-operator in the case, Salvatore Gravano.
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Investigators → interview → case
Gravano said he did not recall ever discussing the term 86 with Comey or hearing it in connection with the trial.
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he → say → trial
Now in his 80s, and colloquially known as Sammy (The Bull) Gravano, the former Gambino underboss confessed to his involvement in 19 murders decades ago.
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underboss → know → murders
Gravano's testimony helped prosecute Gotti, but he eventually returned to prison for several years due to drug trafficking offences unrelated to his Gambino past.
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he → help → past
U.S. Justice Department files motion that some legal critics say reads like a Trump social media post
Banner with Trump's image displayed outside Justice Dept. headquarters
The FBI also searched an internal database of information about open and closed investigations for any indication of an association between Comey and the term 86, but found inconclusive results.
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FBI → file → results
Rudy Giuliani — the former Trump lawyer embroiled in both the 2019 presidential impeachment involving the president's pressure campaign on Ukraine, as well as false 2020 election fraud claims — said on his radio show that Comey had worked on mob cases as a prosecutor in which mafia members used "86" to mean "kill."
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members → embroil → kill
But the FBI's own investigation determined Giuliani's claims to be untrue, defence lawyers said.
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lawyers → determine → ?
Comey was the FBI director when Trump took office in 2017, having been previously appointed by president Barack Obama and also serving as a senior Justice Department official in president George W. Bush's administration.
Trump fired Comey in May 2017 as the FBI was investigating potential ties between Russia and Trump's presidential campaign, at first falsely claiming that the rationale for Comey's dismissal was missteps in an earlier FBI probe of Trump rival Hillary Clinton.
The Justice Department will have an opportunity to respond to the defence's recent filings.
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Department → take → filings
In addition to the vindictive prosecution allegations, Comey's team has submitted motions to argue that the former FBI director's social media post was protected free speech, which could potentially derail the government's prosecution.
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which → submit → prosecution
