Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley said in a Sunday interview that there’s “no way” former FBI Director James Comey didn’t realize his “8647” social media post would be interpreted as a call for violence, as the former FBI director asserted when he took down the post hours later.
The RNC chair said Comey should be investigated for his since-deleted post but stopped short of calling for the FBI director to be locked up, when asked whether he agrees with Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard that “Comey should be in jail.”
“What I agree [with] is that this should be investigated,” Whatley said in response, in an interview on Fox News’s “MediaBuzz.”
“There is no way that this is unintentional,” he continued. “James Comey knew exactly what he was putting up. He thought it was funny. It's not funny.”
Comey — a longtime foe of the president’s — posted a photo earlier Thursday on Instagram of seashells on a beach arranged to form the numbers “8647.” The post garnered significant blowback from much of Trump’s base, with many understanding the numbers to be a call for violence against the 47th president, Trump. Others suggested the “86” could be calling for the president to be impeached or removed from office.
Comey removed the photo Thursday evening and clarified in a new post that he did not intend to call for violence and didn’t realize his message would be interpreted that way.
“I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message,” Comey wrote on Instagram.
“I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence,” he continued. “It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, however, accused Comey of calling for Trump’s “assassination” and said federal law enforcement authorities were investigating the “threat.”
“Disgraced former FBI Director James Comey just called for the assassination of @POTUS Trump,” Noem wrote on the social platform X on Thursday evening. “DHS and Secret Service is investigating this threat and will respond appropriately.”
Gabbard told Watters that Comey should be in jail and that she is “very concerned” for the president’s life.
“We’ve already seen assassination attempts. I’m very concerned for his life,” she said. “And James Comey, in my view, should be held accountable and put behind bars for this.”
