{"id":2596664,"date":"2026-04-29T12:10:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T16:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/blanche-says-trump-did-not-direct-doj-to-indict-comey-a-second-time\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T12:11:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T16:11:06","slug":"blanche-says-trump-did-not-direct-doj-to-indict-comey-a-second-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/blanche-says-trump-did-not-direct-doj-to-indict-comey-a-second-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Blanche says Trump did not direct DOJ to indict Comey a second time"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fblanche-says-trump-did-not-direct-doj-to-indict-comey-a-second-time%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2596664&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said President Donald Trump did not direct the Justice Department to indict former FBI Director James Comey again, adding that the inquiry had been underway for nearly a year. Blanche made the remarks on CBS Mornings after the DOJ filed a two-count indictment in a North Carolina federal court.<\/p>\n<p>The indictment is tied to a May instagram post in which Comey arranged seashells to spell \u201c86 47.\u201d The DOJ argued that a reasonable recipient would interpret the numbers as a serious expression of intent to harm the president. Comey has denied wrongdoing, later deleting the post and saying he never believed it could be read as inciting violence; he also noted the Secret Service questioned him about it at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Comey maintained his innocence after the new charges were announced and said he would continue fighting the case. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison. the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" ><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/attorney-lin-wood-defends-ag-bill-barr-after-announces-he-is-stepping-down-trump-voters-respond\/\" title=\"... Lin Wood Defends AG Bill Barr After Announces He Is Stepping Down \u2014 ... Voters Respond\">acting attorney general<\/a> emphasized<\/a> that the grand jury-rather than the DOJ-returned the indictment, and said threats against the president are not a matter of \u201cseashells\u201d or any alternate narrative. Comey is expected to surrender to authorities Wednesday, with his case assigned to Judge louise Flanagan.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p>Acting Attorney General <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/todd-blanche\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"20883\">Todd Blanche<\/a> on Wednesday denied that President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"4\">Donald Trump<\/a> directed the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/justice-department\/\">Justice Department<\/a> to indict former FBI Director <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/james-comey\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"169\">James Comey<\/a> for a second time, saying the investigation has been ongoing for almost a year.<\/p>\n<p>The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4546191\/james-comey-indicted-second-time-report\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4546191\/james-comey-indicted-second-time-report\/\">two-count indictment<\/a> stems from a May Instagram post by Comey featuring seashells arranged to spell \u201c86 47.\u201d The number \u201c86\u201d is a term the restaurant industry uses when referring to out-of-stock items or to \u201c<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/wordplay\/eighty-six-meaning-origin\">get rid of<\/a>\u201d something, and some Republicans interpreted it as a threat against Trump. And \u201c47\u201d allegedly referred to Trump, who is the 47th president in his second term.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/space\/4547370\/california-coastal-commission-spacex-starlink-apology\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>California agency apologizes to SpaceX over political bias in settlement<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4547332\/federal-judge-dismisses-doj-request-arizona-voter-rolls\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Federal judge dismisses DOJ request for Arizona voter rolls<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4547292\/james-comey-posts-video-in-response-to-new-doj-indictment\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>James Comey posts video in response to new DOJ indictment<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>Blanche <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/CBSMornings\/status\/2049470912844447820\">said<\/a> on <em>CBS Mornings<\/em> that Trump is \u201cabsolutely, positively, not\u201d involved in the case. <\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>\u201cThis is not something that just happened the past couple of weeks,\u201d Blanche said. \u201cThis is something that has been investigated for nearly a year now, and the result of that investigation is a grand jury returned an indictment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.nced.227449\/gov.uscourts.nced.227449.1.0_4.pdf\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.nced.227449\/gov.uscourts.nced.227449.1.0_4.pdf\">charging document<\/a> filed in a North Carolina federal court on Tuesday, the Justice Department said a \u201creasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances would interpret\u201d the numbers \u201cas a serious expression of an intent to do harm to the President of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Comey has since deleted the post and said he didn\u2019t think the message could be interpreted as inciting political violence. He took a photo of the seashells as he walked on a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/north-carolina\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"552\">North Carolina<\/a> beach. The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/secret-service\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1478\">Secret Service<\/a> questioned him about the post at the time. <\/p>\n<p>After the indictment dropped on Tuesday, Comey maintained his innocence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, they\u2019re back,\u201d he <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/az_intel_\/status\/2049245093077622831?s=46\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/x.com\/az_intel_\/status\/2049245093077622831?s=46\">said in a video<\/a>. \u201cThis time about a picture of seashells on a North Carolina beach a year ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd this won\u2019t be the end of it, but nothing has changed with me,\u201d the former FBI director and Trump foe added. \u201cI\u2019m still innocent, I\u2019m still not afraid, and I still believe in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/what-happens-next-after-comey-and-james-cases-dismissed\/\" title=\"What happens next after ... and James cases dismissed?\">independent federal judiciary<\/a>. So, let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The two charges are threatening to kill the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking with CBS News, Blanche said the proof against Comey is the \u201cfact that the grand jury returned an indictment\u201d and stressed that the jury, not the DOJ, charged him with a crime.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s serious when you threaten the president of the United States, and anybody that tries to put forward some narrative that this is just about seashells or something to the contrary is missing the point,\u201d the acting attorney general said. \u201cYou cannot threaten the president of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMr. Comey will get his day in court,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n<p>Blanche denied that he is using the latest Comey prosecution as an \u201caudition\u201d for the full-time attorney general position after succeeding <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/pam-bondi\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"11687\">Pam Bondi<\/a> this month. Trump has yet to nominate someone for the top DOJ post.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4547292\/james-comey-posts-video-in-response-to-new-doj-indictment\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4547292\/james-comey-posts-video-in-response-to-new-doj-indictment\/\">JAMES COMEY POSTS VIDEO IN RESPONSE TO NEW DOJ INDICTMENT<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In September, a grand jury indicted Comey on charges of making false statements and obstructing justice related to a years-old <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/senate\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"8765\">Senate<\/a> testimony. The prosecution was dismissed in November after a federal judge determined Lindsey Halligan, the interim U.S. attorney who secured the indictment in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/virginia\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"96\">Virginia<\/a>, was unlawfully appointed by Trump.<\/p>\n<p>Comey is expected to surrender himself to authorities on Wednesday following the new indictment. His case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan in the Eastern District of North Carolina, and his first court appearance could come as early as Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Blanche denies Trump ordered a second Comey indictment; probe spans a year<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2159,"featured_media":2596665,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-collage-wvwj8q5nd-1777474778090-e1777474867696.jpg?1777463668&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[25914,7076,15074,51149,3634],"class_list":["post-2596664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-blanche","tag-doj","tag-indictment","tag-james-comey","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-collage-wvwj8q5nd-1777474778090-e1777474867696.jpg?1777463668&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2596664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2159"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2596664"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2596664\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2596668,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2596664\/revisions\/2596668"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2596665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2596664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2596664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2596664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}