Former FBI Director James Comey interviewed by the US Secret Service

By John Miller and Holmes Lybrand, CNN

(CNN) — Former FBI Director James Comey was interviewed by US Secret Service agents at their Washington, DC, field office on Friday afternoon, according to law enforcement sources.

Comey was interviewed by agents investigating a photo he posted to social media Thursday showing shells in the sand on a beach spelling out “86 47,” which has become a popular social media code for removing Trump from the presidency.

Comey was not in custody and appeared voluntarily, a source said.

Comey told the Secret Service he and his wife were walking on the beach on Thursday when he saw the arranged shells, a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation said. Comey said they thought it was an address for a nearby property, but when he realized it was likely someone making a political statement, he snapped a photo and posted it, according to the source.

Comey told the agents that a family member told him the post could possibly be interpreted as something sinister, so he deleted it, but he said he didn’t know “86” could mean violence and had no intention of threatening or harming Trump.

Trump and fellow Republicans have attacked Comey for the post, demanding an investigation.

Comey “knew exactly what that meant,” Trump said in a Fox News interview released Friday. “A child knows what that meant. If you’re the FBI director and you don’t know what that meant, that meant assassination.”

In explaining why he removed the post, Comey wrote on Instagram that he had “posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message.”

It was expected that Comey would be asked whether he intended the message as a threat, or to inspire others who might consider an act of violence against Trump, the first law enforcement source said.

The law enforcement source close familiar with the case told CNN that Attorney General Pam Bondi told the Secret Service operations center Thursday night the case had to be presented to the US attorney first thing Friday before the scheduled interview. Ultimately, a decision on whether the case is chargeable as a threat against the president may lie with the US attorney in Washington.

“The Secret Service vigorously investigates anything that can be taken as a potential threat against our protectees,” Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement to CNN. “We are aware of the social media posts by the former FBI Director and we take rhetoric like this very seriously. Beyond that, we do not comment on protective intelligence matters.”

Legally speaking, prosecuting Comey may be fruitless as any legal action would stand little chance, especially after a recent Supreme Court decision regarding threats and among a judiciary that has expanded free speech rights in recent years, legal experts say.

“I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence,” Comey said Thursday of the number “86,” which can refer to something being tossed away or taken out. The corresponding “47” matches Trump’s current term in office as the 47th president. “It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”

A Secret Service source familiar with the investigation told CNN that under normal circumstances, such a post wouldn’t warrant a full-fledged investigation but under the current political climate will likely get more attention. Such an investigation, the source said, would serve as a distraction for agents in an organization already stretched thin.

Another law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN the case is a “waste of our time. We’re strapped for resources but we’re investigating seashells.”

This story has been updated with additional details.

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