{"id":7661,"date":"2026-07-29T16:38:03","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T16:38:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7661"},"modified":"2026-07-29T16:38:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T16:38:03","slug":"new-secret-service-emails-reveal-how-case-was-built-against-james-comey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7661","title":{"rendered":"New Secret Service emails reveal how case was built against James Comey"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

\n Federal officials, apparently acting without a warrant, tracked former FBI Director James Comey from North Carolina to Virginia after he posted photos of seashells spelling out \u201c86 47\u201d last year, Comey\u2019s attorneys allege.\n <\/p>

Read more Blanche nomination in peril as key GOP senator rails on DOJ over controversial fund<\/a><\/p>\n

\n also outline how President Donald Trump was following the investigation into his longtime critic from Air Force One, how investigators interviewed Gambino crime family member \u201cSammy the Bull,\u201d as well as searches of \u201c86\u201d in FBI databases, ChatGPT and Merriam Webster dictionary online in their effort to build a case against Comey.\n <\/p>\n

\n The defense\u2019s filing is part of Comey\u2019s effort to have the case dismissed on several grounds, including selective and vindictive prosecution, and that the photo of shells does not represent a true threat, falling well within First Amendment protections.\n <\/p>\n

\n According to a Secret Service email at the time, Comey was interviwed by phone the day he posted the photo in May 2025. During the call, Comey agreed to travel back from North Carolina to the DC area for a second interview.\n <\/p>\n

\n A special agent in charge at the Secret Service had asked agents if it was possible to track Comey\u2019s phone, according to the email, but the agent said it was a \u201cbad idea\u201d because they would need to \u201cdeclare an exigency exemption.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe needed to believe that there is an imminent threat to life or limb,\u201d the agent\u2019s email from the day after Comey posted the seashell photos reads. \u201cAt that time we did not believe that anyone\u2019s life was in immediate danger and legally it was a bad idea to ping the phone.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The special agent said he understood tracking the phone was \u201clegally questionable\u201d but noted \u201cwe might anyway,\u201d according to the filing.\n <\/p>\n

\n Regardless of the concern, and following pressure from the Justice Department, the Secret Service issued an emergency request to Verizon to track Comey, noting it related to \u201can emergency involving danger of death or serious physical injury to a person, necessitating disclosure without delay of information relating to that emergency.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n According to the court filings, Secret Service agents had also begun physically surveilling Comey at the time.\n <\/p>\n

\n
\n\n Related article\n <\/span>\n<\/header>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n\n
\n
\"Former<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\nFormer FBI Director James Comey, in 2017.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Andrew Harnik\/AP\/File<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

\nComey argues \u201886 47\u2019 seashell post wasn\u2019t a \u2018true threat\u2019 and asks judge to drop case<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

2 min read<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

\n Comey\u2019s phone was tracked as he and his wife drove north in I-95, but agents lost contact when the Comeys stopped to visit the cemetery where their son is buried, his attorneys say.\n <\/p>

Read more The Trump admin wants to test paint patches on an iconic DC building this week. Preservationists are trying to stop it.<\/a><\/p>\n

\n According to the filings, Trump wanted a copy of the agent\u2019s notes over the first interview with Comey, specifically so he had them for a press conference later that day. One agent messaged that Comey\u2019s post and investigation \u201cis a hot topic\u201d on Air Force One and noted that Trump \u201cis very interested.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Old mobsters and database searches\n<\/h2>\n

\n The filings also reveal for the first time witnesses the Justice Department used to build their case and convince judges to allow searches of Comey and his wife\u2019s digital footprint. Those witnesses included a person who knew Comey\u2019s wife and an ex-mobster.\n <\/p>\n

\n Nearly a week later, FBI agents interviewed an unnamed person who had contacted Comey\u2019s wife at the time the photo was posted, telling her the photo was considered by some as a call to violence against Trump.\n <\/p>\n

\n The unnamed individual was interviewed by Secret Service agents around the time the photo was posted last year. The person said they had not spoken to Comey in two or three years and said they wished they had \u201csomething more\u201d to tell the agents so Comey and family members would \u201cface consequences for this.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The unnamed person also said that Comey likely knew the term 86 \u2013 which often refers to getting rid of something or tossing something out \u2013 was used by mobsters Comey has previously prosecuted, a theory they had picked up on from Rudy Guiliani and his podcast.\n <\/p>\n

\n Weeks before they would indict Comey for allegedly threatening the president through the post, FBI agents again interviewed the unnamed person and started to comb through old files from Comey\u2019s time as a young prosecutor working the case against infamous mobster John Gambino.\n <\/p>\n

\n
\n\n
\n
\"Former<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\nFormer Mafia turncoat and hitman Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano is seen in this March 6, 2000 file photo during his hearing in Phoenix, Arizona.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Reuters<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n The Tuesday night filings from Comey\u2019s attorneys say there are no references to the term \u201c86.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n FBI agents also interviewed Salvatore \u201cSammy the Bull\u201d Gravano, a cooperating witness and former underboss for the Gambinos from the decades-old case, who said that Comey must know \u201c86\u201d related to killing someone.\n <\/p>\n

\n Agents also interviewed two retired FBI agents who had worked against organized crime in New York. Both former agents said the term was not used, as far as they recalled, to refer to killing someone, the filings from Comey\u2019s attorneys says.\n <\/p>

Read more Dr. Anthony Fauci pleads the Fifth to avoid Senate questions about Covid pandemic<\/a><\/p>\n

\nCNN\u2019s Katelyn Polantz contributed to this report.<\/em>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Federal officials, apparently acting without a warrant, tracked former FBI Director James Comey from North Carolina to Virginia after he posted photos of seashells spelling out \u201c86 47\u201d last year, Comey\u2019s attorneys allege.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7656,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nNew Secret Service emails reveal how case was built against James Comey - Relocation Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7661\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Secret Service emails reveal how case was built against James Comey - Relocation Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Federal officials, apparently acting without a warrant, tracked former FBI Director James Comey from North Carolina to Virginia after he posted photos of seashells spelling out \u201c86 47\u201d last year, Comey\u2019s attorneys allege.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7661\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Relocation Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-29T16:38:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/9d9aaf13c1ca88cdef7c377f78462bd3.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"256\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"144\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7661#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7661\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3d25fb966f660ab012820a9e0acc09be\"},\"headline\":\"New Secret Service emails reveal how case was built against James Comey\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-29T16:38:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7661\"},\"wordCount\":885,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7661#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/dac0e34807bac7c17ee1f24e945d78c5.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7661#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7661\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7661\",\"name\":\"New Secret Service emails reveal how case was built against James Comey - Relocation Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7661#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7661#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/dac0e34807bac7c17ee1f24e945d78c5.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-29T16:38:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3d25fb966f660ab012820a9e0acc09be\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7661#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7661\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7661#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/dac0e34807bac7c17ee1f24e945d78c5.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/dac0e34807bac7c17ee1f24e945d78c5.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":450},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7661#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"New Secret Service emails reveal how case was built against James Comey\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Relocation Times\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3d25fb966f660ab012820a9e0acc09be\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"New Secret Service emails reveal how case was built against James Comey - Relocation Times","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7661","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"New Secret Service emails reveal how case was built against James Comey - Relocation Times","og_description":"Federal officials, apparently acting without a warrant, tracked former FBI Director James Comey from North Carolina to Virginia after he posted photos of seashells spelling out \u201c86 47\u201d last year, Comey\u2019s attorneys allege.","og_url":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7661","og_site_name":"Relocation Times","article_published_time":"2026-07-29T16:38:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":256,"height":144,"url":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/9d9aaf13c1ca88cdef7c377f78462bd3.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7661#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7661"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3d25fb966f660ab012820a9e0acc09be"},"headline":"New Secret Service emails reveal how case was built against James Comey","datePublished":"2026-07-29T16:38:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7661"},"wordCount":885,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7661#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/dac0e34807bac7c17ee1f24e945d78c5.jpg","articleSection":["Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7661#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7661","url":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7661","name":"New Secret Service emails reveal how case was built against James Comey - Relocation Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7661#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7661#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/dac0e34807bac7c17ee1f24e945d78c5.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-29T16:38:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3d25fb966f660ab012820a9e0acc09be"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7661#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7661"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7661#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/dac0e34807bac7c17ee1f24e945d78c5.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/dac0e34807bac7c17ee1f24e945d78c5.jpg","width":800,"height":450},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7661#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"New Secret Service emails reveal how case was built against James Comey"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/","name":"Relocation Times","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3d25fb966f660ab012820a9e0acc09be","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/relocationtimess.com"],"url":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}