Comey indicted over 86/45 photo of seashells on NC beach

[LetMyPeopleVote]

30. MaddowBlog-Comey's second indictment shows the lengths Blanche will go to please Trump

The latest indictment of the former FBI director is ridiculous, but it’s part of an unsubtle pattern from the acting attorney general.

The indefensible second Comey indictment is obviously evidence of a weaponized and corrupted Justice Department.

But it’s also one of many unsubtle steps Todd Blanche has taken lately to delight Trump and try to nail down an AG nomination.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-04-28T19:39:33.394Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/comeys-second-indictment-shows-the-lengths-blanche-will-go-to-please-trump

When Donald Trump’s Justice Department first indicted former FBI Director James Comey last year, it was a devastating moment for American law enforcement. MS NOW’s Ken Dilanian reported that within the DOJ, many insiders believed it was “among the worst abuses” in the history of the institution. Describing the circumstances as “shocking,” Dilanian added, “It’s hard to overstate how a big a moment this is.”....

In theory, Trump’s DOJ should have been chastened by the condemnations and by the case’s failure. In practice, the shamelessly weaponized department decided to give it another try. MS NOW reported:

The Trump Justice Department has charged former FBI Director James Comey again, following the dismissal of his first indictment due to the illegal appointment of the prosecutor who secured it.

The new indictment involves allegations that Comey made threats against President Donald Trump in a May 2025 social media posting of a picture of shells on the beach that spelled out “8647,” a source familiar with the matter told MS NOW.

I can appreciate why this might seem like an unfortunate attempt at humor, but it’s apparently quite real. While plenty of political figures from both parties have used “86” over the years as a shorthand for rejecting foes, the president and his team argued in apparent seriousness last spring that the former FBI director had used Instagram to call for violence against Trump by way of a seashell-related code.....

Over the course of a few weeks, the Blanche-led DOJ has prosecuted a progressive group the president hates, intensified a politically motivated purge, advocated firing squads as a method of federal execution while slamming Joe Biden in gratuitous ways, intervened in support of Trump’s ballroom crusade and indicted a former aide to Dr. Anthony Fauci (a leading figure on the White House’s enemies list) before indicting Comey (another leading figure on the White House’s enemies list.)

At an official event this week, the acting attorney general offered such sycophantic praise for the president he seemed to be auditioning to star in a Trump campaign ad.

Acting Attorney General Blanche is now doing a campaign-style promo for Trump

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-04-27T19:42:41.239Z

No one should want to be an attorney general nominee this badly (under Trump, it’s not even an especially good job anyway), but Blanche’s actions are about as subtle as a sledgehammer.