President Donald Trump lashed out at the former FBI director he fired over the Russiagate probe as his administration officials call for the ex-intel official's possible prosecution.
The president's allies say James Comey, who Trump fired in May 2017, was calling for violence when he posted a photo on Instagram showing sea shells arranged to read "8647," with the caption "Cool shell formation on my beach walk," and Trump seemed to agree.
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"He knew exactly what that meant, a child knows what that meant" Trump told Fox News. "If you're the FBI director and you don't know what that meant, that meant assassination, and it says it loud and clear."
Trump suggested that Comey, who later deleted the post and insisted he had no intention of threatening the president with violence, was still bitter about his dismissal nine years ago.
"Well, he apologized because he was hit," Trump said. "He's a very bad guy."
Trump declined to say whether Comey should face prosecution, saying he would leave that up to attorney general Pam Bondi, but homeland security secretary Kristi Noem said the U.S. Secret Service was investigating the matter.
"If he had a clean history – he doesn't," Trump said. "He's a dirty cop. He's a dirty cop, and if he had a clean history I could understand if there was a leniency but I'm going to let them make that decision."
The slang term "86" has several meanings, primarily related to the service industry, such as refusing service to a customer or removing an item from the menu because it's out of stock.
