前美国联邦调查局导演詹姆斯·科米周三在弗吉尼亚州东区法院向执法部门自首后首次出庭，此前他于周二被指控在社交媒体帖子中威胁总统，唐纳德·特朗普总统称该帖子代表“巨大的危险”
周二北卡罗来纳州的联邦大陪审团被起诉的科米去年，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)和他的政府成员在Instagram上发布了一条有争议的帖子，声称这是对特朗普的威胁。
起诉书的核心是近一年前爆发的一场争议，当时科米在Instagram的一篇已被删除的帖子中分享了一张照片，显示了用贝壳写在海滩上的数字“86 47”，标题是“我在海滩散步时形成的酷贝壳”。
周三，在椭圆形办公室被记者问及他是否觉得自己的生命因这篇帖子而处于危险之中时，特朗普回答说，“可能吧。我不知道。你知道，根据，根据我在那里看到的，是的。我认为，像科米这样的人给政治家和其他人带来了巨大的危险。”
“如果有人知道任何关于犯罪的事情，他们知道86...特朗普说:“你知道，这是一个暴徒杀死他的术语。“你看过电影吗?“86他，”歹徒对他的一个出色的同伙说。“86他”——这意味着杀了他。”
《韦氏词典词典》认为这个词来自餐馆和酒吧行业，并表示它的意思是“驱逐或禁止”，“解雇或移除”，或“拒绝，中断或摆脱”某事。
在短短三页的起诉书中，科米面临一项威胁总统和继任者的指控，以及一项在州际商业中传播威胁的指控。
科米在出庭期间没有提出抗辩。
他回答“是的，法官大人，”大概是对起诉书中指控的认可。他的两位律师杰西卡·卡迈克尔和帕特里克·菲茨杰拉德陪在他身边。
科米被允许无条件释放。他的律师说，“我不明白这次为什么还需要它们。”
检方在起诉书中表示，该帖子构成了一种威胁，任何“熟悉情况的合理收件人都会将其解读为意图伤害美国总统的严重表达。”
科米的律师周三表示，他们计划提交一份动议，指控司法部选择性和报复性地起诉科米，并在法庭上表示，他们希望确保政府保留任何可能与这一动议有关的材料和公开声明。
检察官可能会面临高级法律律师为了证明Instagram帖子构成“真正的威胁”，最高法院在2023年发现，需要证明个人明白他们的信息会被视为威胁。随着特朗普政府的抗议者越来越多地采用“86 47”这个短语，该案可能会对第一修正案产生深远影响。
其他人也使用了“86”命名法，包括民主党密歇根州州长格雷琴·惠特默在2020年接受电视采访时，在她身后的桌子上放了一个数字“86 45”的小雕像，以及保守派评论员杰克·波索比克发布了一条推文乔·拜登任总统期间的“86 46”。
科米去年因涉嫌向国会撒谎和阻挠2020年在美国参议院司法委员会作证而被起诉。科米的律师提出驳回起诉，认为该案件是出于政治动机，大陪审团从未看到完整的指控，该案件是最终被驳回关于起诉此案的检察官的合法性问题。
“我知道唐纳德·特朗普很可能会再次追杀我，我的态度也会一样，”科米在去年11月前一份起诉书被驳回后发布到社交媒体的视频中说。“我是无辜的。我不害怕，我相信一个独立的联邦司法机构——这是我们的缔造者给我们的礼物，保护我们免受未来暴君的侵害。”
新的起诉书出台之际，司法部最近几周加大了对特朗普一些案件的调查力度被视为政敌的人代理司法部长托德·布兰奇(Todd Blanche)在特朗普驱逐帕姆·邦迪(Pam Bondi)后领导司法部。
“我什么都没有改变，”科米周二在网上发布了对起诉书的回应，呼应了他去年在先前的起诉书被驳回后所说的话。“我仍然是无辜的，我仍然不害怕，我仍然相信独立的联邦司法机构，所以我们走吧。”
“但非常重要的是，我们所有人都要记住，这不是我们作为一个国家的样子，这不是司法部应该有的样子，好消息是，我们每天都在接近恢复这些价值观，”他补充道。“保持信念。”
Trump says James Comey's Instagram post represents 'tremendous danger'
Former FBI Director James Comey made an initial court appearance Wednesday after self-surrendering to law enforcement at the courthouse in the Eastern District of Virginia, following his indictment Tuesday on charges of threatening the president in a social media post that President Donald Trump said represented "tremendous danger."
A federal grand jury in North Carolina on Tuesdayindicted Comeyover a controversial Instagram post from last year that President Donald Trump and members of his administration claimed was a threat against Trump.
The indictment centers on a controversy that erupted nearly a year ago when Comey, in a since-deleted Instagram post, shared a picture showing the numbers "86 47" written in seashells on the beach with the caption "Cool shell formation on my beach walk."
Asked by reporters in the Oval Office Wednesday if he felt his life was in danger as a result of the post, Trump replied, "Probably. I don't know. You know, based on, based on what I'm seeing out there, yeah. People like Comey have created tremendous danger, I think, for politicians and others."
"If anybody knows anything about, crime, they know 86 ... it's a mob term for kill him, you know," said Trump. "Do you ever see the movies? '86 him,' the mobster says to one of his wonderful associates. '86 him' -- that means kill him."
The Merriam-Webster dictionary suggests the term came from the restaurant and bar industry and says it means "to eject or ban," to "dismiss or remove," or to "reject, discontinue, or get rid of" something.
As outlined in the short, three-page indictment, Comey faces one charge of threats against the president and successors, and one charge of transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.
Comey did not enter a plea during his court appearance.
He answered "Yes, your honor," presumably as an acknowledgement of the charges in the indictment. He was flanked by his two attorneys, Jessica Carmichael and Patrick Fitzgerald.
Comey was allowed to the leave court without conditions for his release. His attorney said, "I don't see why they'd be necessary this time."
Prosecutors in the indictment say the post constitutes a threat that any "reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances would interpret as a serious expression of an intent to do harm to the President of the United States."
Comey's attorneys indicated Wednesday that they plan to file a motion accusing the Justice Department of selectively and vindictively prosecuting Comey, and said in court they wanted to make sure the government preserved any materials and public statements that could be related to such a motion.
Prosecutors will likely face ahigh legal barto prove that the Instagram post constituted a "true threat," which the Supreme Court in 2023 found required showing an individual understood their message would be perceived as threatening. With the phrase "86 47" increasingly adopted by protesters of the Trump administration, the case could carry sweeping implications for the First Amendment.
Others have used the "86" nomenclature, including Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer who appeared during a 2020 television interview with a small figurine of the numbers "86 45" on a table behind her, and conservative commentator Jack Posobiec, whoposted a Tweetwith "86 46" during Joe Biden's presidency.
Comey was indicted last year on unrelated charges for allegedly lying to Congress and obstruction related to his testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020. Comey's lawyers moved to dismiss the indictment, arguing the case was politically motivated and that the grand jury never saw the charges in their entirety, and the case wasultimately dismissedover issues with the legitimacy of the prosecutor who brought the case.
"I know that Donald Trump will probably come after me again, and my attitude is going to be the same," Comey said in a video posted to social media after the previous indictment was thrown out in November. "I'm innocent. I am not afraid, and I believe in an independent federal judiciary -- the gift from our founders that protects us from a would-be tyrant."
The new indictment comes as the Department of Justice in recent weeks has ramped up investigations of some of Trump'sperceived political foesunder Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who is heading up the Justice Department following Trump's ouster of Pam Bondi.
"Nothing has changed with me," Comey posted online Tuesday in response to the indictment, echoing what he said after the previous indictment was thrown out last year. "I'm still innocent, I'm still not afraid and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary so let's go."
"But it's really important that all of us remember this is not who we are as a country, this is not how the Department of Justice is supposed to be and the good news is we get closer every day to restoring those values," he added. "Keep the faith."
