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

[LetMyPeopleVote]

66. MaddowBlog-Trump tries to defend Comey case, says seashell message 'probably' put his life in danger

For the first time since the former FBI director’s indictment, the president tried to defend the criminal case. It didn’t go well.

Trump suggested yesterday that Comey’s seashell message “probably” put his life in danger.

Put it this way: When even Troy Nehls — who recently said Trump is “the almost the second coming” — thinks a case is “a stretch,” it’s clear that the White House is out on a limb.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-04-30T13:11:30.556Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-comey-seashells-charges-defends

Donald Trump has a sizable fan club on Capitol Hill, with many Republicans offering embarrassingly sycophantic support for the president. But if I had to pick the single most unabashed supporter of the president in Congress, it would be Rep. Troy Nehls.....

But asked Wednesday about Trump’s Justice Department indicting James Comey, claiming that the former FBI director used Instagram to call for violence against the president by way of a seashell-related code, Nehls replied, “I think it’s a stretch.”

Not to put too fine a point on this, but when Troy Nehls is willing to say, out loud and in public, that even he is unconvinced by the merits of a ridiculous criminal case against a White House foe, it’s striking evidence that the administration is pushing its luck.

Around the same time the Texan offered his assessment, the president himself made his first public comments on the indictment announced two days earlier. He seemed eager to defend the case on its merits, though his pitch wasn’t exactly persuasive.

BREAKING: President Trump responds to the second indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, saying his life was 'probably' in danger from Comey's 2025 social media post showing shells arranged in a pattern reading  "86 47."

— MS NOW (@ms.now) 2026-04-29T19:27:54.842Z

....Putting aside the inconvenient fact that there’s still no evidence of Comey being “dirty,” a variety of Trump allies have used “86” in a colloquial context, even in reference to Joe Biden during the Democrat’s presidency, and none of them has ever faced a federal criminal investigation or been prosecuted by the Justice Department.

The former FBI director’s lawyers made clear Wednesday they’ll defend Comey by arguing that the case is an illegal example of political retribution. I like their chances.

I live in Troy Nehls' district. Nehls is pure scum who is not running this cycle because of pending ethics investigation. Nehl manipulated the filing process by delaying the announcement so that Troy's twin brother is the GOP nominee for this seat. Susan Bankston aka Juanita Jean is a friend who also hates Nehls. I had fun telling Susan about this MaddowBlog post. Susan pointed out to me that Tever Nehls (Troy's twin) lost for sheriff and in other races and hopefully people will hold that against Trever.

The fact that the MaddowBlog had fun with Troy Nehls really made me smile