Trump blasts former FBI director James Comey over controversial Instagram post
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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump lashed out Friday against ex-FBI director James Comey over an Instagram post that contained an image that top Trump officials claimed was a threat.
In a now-deleted Instagram post, Comey showed a photo of “8647” written in seashells in sand, with the caption “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”
Some far-right allies of President Trump, including Laura Loomer, have alleged that Comey is calling for violence against President Trump.
To “86” something, however, has fairly broad interpretations as a slang term — and can simply mean to nix or “get rid”of’ something.
Comey says he figured the message was political, but didn’t realize it called for violence against Trump.
“It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind,” Comey said in another post on Instagram.
Trump, however, told Fox News Friday that he wasn’t buying Comey’s explanation.
“He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant. If you’re the FBI director and you don’t know what that meant, that meant assassination,” the president said.
Trump fired Comey in his first administration and the president claimed Comey still had an axe to grind.
“Well, he apologized because he was hit — he’s a very bad guy,” Trump said.
The president did not take a position on whether or not Comey should be investigated, but deferred to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Thursday in an X post that the U.S. Secret Service is looking into Comey’s post.
“Disgraced former FBI Director James Comey just called for the assassination of @POTUS Trump,” she said.
(WASHINGTON) — A panel of appeals judges expressed skepticism with elements of the Trump administration’s transgender service member ban, peppering a Department of Justice lawyer with questions Tuesday morning about the basis for the ban and justification for blocking anyone with gender dysphoria from service without making individualized determinations.
DOJ attorney Jason Manion attempted to justify the policy by arguing that transgender troops lessen the readiness of the U.S. military and that the policy falls under a “core area of presidential power.”
“The military has determined that this policy will increase the readiness and effectiveness of the military and, in fact, that not being able to enact it would be harmful to the military,” he argued.
Judge Cornelia Pillard, an Obama appointee, pushed back on the assertion by highlighting that the Pentagon did not provide concrete evidence or research to show that transgender members of the military are less lethal or less ready for combat.
“If the military said people with red hair are just too fragile and vulnerable, we are going to kick them all out of the military and we are going to not allow any of them ever to join — we have no evidence of that, but we think they’re a threat to military preparedness, to unit cohesion, and too costly, and so we’re just going to kick them out, is that rational enough under military deference?” she asked.
Manion attempted to argue that gender dysphoria is “marked by severe clinical distress or impaired functioning,” but Pillard noted that the military already screens soldiers for depression and suicidal ideation.
Judges Gregory Katsas and Neomi Rao, both Trump appointees who also served in his first administration, also raised concerns that the policy treats soldiers the same based on their sex, rather than allow individualized determinations.
“Should the military be required to take an individualized determination?” Rao asked. “Is the decision not to make individualized determinations some indication that this is treating people the same based on the transgender status?”
Shannon Minter, an attorney for the group of 32 transgender service members and recruits who challenged the policy, urged the court to stop the ban from taking effect, arguing the Trump administration has failed to prove why thousands of transgender soldiers deserve to be declared unfit for service.
“The government have a high burden here, and it has not been able to meet any part of it,” Minter said.
The group sued the Trump administration over the policy in January, and at least three different federal judges have since blocked the ban from taking effect.
“The Court’s opinion is long, but its premise is simple. In the self-evident truth that ‘all people are created equal, all means all. Nothing more. And certainly nothing less,” Judge Ana Reyes wrote in a ruling last month blocking the policy.
The Trump administration has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to overrule Reyes’ decision, arguing that gender dysphoria “limits deployability and imposes additional costs on the military” and is “not compatible with military readiness and lethality.”
Lawyers with the DOJ have argued that the courts should defer to military leadership about the best way to run the armed services.
“Plaintiffs offer no sound basis for concluding that the line the military has once again drawn falls outside constitutional bounds,” DOJ lawyers wrote.
But lawyers representing the transgender service members have pushed back on the Pentagon’s claim, arguing the Trump administration has provided no evidence of the harm stemming from the policy.
They argued that allowing the policy to take effect would “trigger an explosive and harmful trip wire, causing reputational, professional, and constitutional harm that can never be fully undone.”
(WASHINGTON) — Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff in a letter to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles sent Monday, repeated his calls for the White House to issue a full disclosure of financial transactions from senior officials.
The new ask comes after the California senator — along with 25 other Democratic members of Congress — sent a separate letter to Wiles in April that outlined his concern surrounding potential ethics violations, asking for a commitment from all senior White House and executive branch employees to “expeditiously” transmit all reports related to their securities transactions since the start of Trump’s term to the Office of Government Ethics, and that the reports be made public.
That April letter was sent in the wake of President Donald Trump’s sudden pause that month of his sweeping set of tariffs, which triggered widespread concern from Schiff and other Democrats that those close to the president might have engaged in insider trading as markets rose following the pause.
In his Monday letter, addressed to Wiles like the first but also including White House Counsel David Warrington, Schiff notes that senior executive White House officials are “now beyond the maximum allowable filing period for individuals who began their service at the outset of the Administration” under federal ethics laws, which mandate that they file public annual financial disclosure documents, including a new entrant report, within 30 days of assuming their duties.
“The White House has yet to disclose any financial disclosure or transaction reports, even after widespread concern of potential insider trading following President Trump’s sudden pause of sweeping tariffs in early April,” Schiff writes in the letter, first shared first with ABC News.
“According to OGE’s disclosure database to date, no new entrant reports for any senior White House officials have been made available for public disclosure, despite legal requirements under the Ethics in Government Act and the clear public interest in the financial disclosures of senior executive branch leaders, raising questions as to whether the required public reports have yet to be submitted to OGE for certification,” he added.
Asked by ABC News for comment on the letter, White House spokesman Kush Desai said on Monday, “The American people remain highly concerned about Nancy Pelosi’s long, documented history of insider trading and eagerly await Adam Schiff refocusing his political stunt on serious issues, like Pelosi’s portfolio.”
Pelosi has faced allegations of trading on inside information during her time in Congress but has denied any impropriety.
Copied on Schiff’s letter is also Jamieson Greer, the acting director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, and Scott Gast, the ethics attorney in the White House counsel’s office.
In their April letter, the Democrats requested a response from Wiles no later than May 9, 2025, and for a “detailed plan” for how the administration plans to address any officials and employees who might have failed to file required disclosures from the start of the administration.
A spokesperson for Schiff said that they received from the White House an acknowledgement that they had received the letter, but provided no answers to their demands.
In the newest letter, Schiff asked for Wiles and Warrington to send, no later than on June 10, a list of all White House officials required to file new entrant reports; an explanation for the failure to transmit any new entrant reports to OGE for second-level review and certification; the current status and anticipated timeline for the submission and public posting of all overdue disclosures; a list of any filing extensions requested and granted by designated White House ethics officials and the duration of those extensions; and whether any late filing fees have been imposed for delinquent filings, as required by law.
“Transparency and compliance with ethics laws are essential. The American public deserves to know that those serving at the highest levels of government are free from financial conflicts of interest and have complied with the laws designed to safeguard the integrity of public service. I look forward to reviewing your responses,” the senator concluded.
Trump’s tariffs have faced a number of court challenges. An appeals court reinstated Trump’s tariffs this week after a Wednesday court order blocked them. The appeals court decision stands for the time being.
The block on the tariffs came after the Court of International Trade decided that the administration’s evocation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not give the president the right to set “unlimited” tariffs. The Trump administration argued that the court order may harm their progress in negotiations.
Schiff has been a critic and target of Trump since his days in the House. Former President Joe Biden, during his last hours in office, issued a preemptive pardon for Schiff in connection with his work on the House’s Jan. 6 select committee. Schiff has called that pardon “unnecessary” and “unwise.”
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump said overnight that calling Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz after a political assassination sent shockwaves through the state would be a “waste of time.”
Trump was asked if he’d reach out to Walz, who was the vice presidential running mate for the Democratic Party’s 2024 nominee Kamala Harris, as he returned to Washington after leaving the G7 summit early.
“I think the governor of Minnesota is so whacked out. I’m not calling him,” Trump said. “Why would I call him? I could call and say, ‘Hi, how you doing?’ Uh, the guy doesn’t have a clue. He’s a mess. I could be nice and call, but why waste time?”
Trump told ABC News on Sunday that he “may” call Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz after a political assassination sent shockwaves through the state.
The president, who condemned the violence, called the Democratic governor a “terrible governor” and “grossly incompetent” in an interview with ABC News Senior Political Correspondent Rachel Scott. “Well, it’s a terrible thing. I think he’s a terrible governor. I think he’s a grossly incompetent person. But I may, I may call him, I may call other people too,” the president told Scott.
As of Monday afternoon, Walz had not heard from the president, according to a source.
Minnesota is reeling from two back-to-back shootings. Authorities say a masked gunman disguised as a police officer shot and killed Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman, a former speaker of the state House, and her husband Mark, and wounded a state senator and his wife early Saturday.
The accused gunman, 57-year-old Vance Luther Boelter, was captured late Sunday night.
Walz called the shootings an “act of targeted political violence.”
The president condemned the violence shortly after the attack.
“Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America. God Bless the great people of Minnesota, a truly great place,” he said.
A source close the Walz told ABC News that Walz and Vice President JD Vance spoke regarding the shootings.
“The Governor expressed appreciation for the ongoing coordination between federal law enforcement and Minnesota public safety officials,” the person said.
A source told ABC News on Sunday that former President Joe Biden called Walz “right away.”
A source familiar with the call described the conversation on Monday as “compassionate.” The pair spoke about grief, Biden offered his condolences and “discussed Hortman’s legacy,” the source said, Biden had met Hortman and told Walz he “was a fan,” the source said.
The White House said in a statement that the FBI and the attorney general’s office will investigate the shootings and “will be prosecuting anyone involved to the fullest extent of the law.”
Police say the suspected gunman allegedly had dozens of Minnesota Democrats on a target list, which was retrieved from the his vehicle.
The assassination comes amid growing concerns about political violence in the U.S. following the recent killing of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, the arson attack at the home of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, and the attempted assassination of Trump last summer.
ABC News’ Hannah Demissie contributed to this report.
