James Comey, former director of the FBI, pauses during a Bloomberg Television interview in Salzburg, Austria, June 21, 2019. (Alex Kraus/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Comey, dismissed by President Donald Trump in 2017, sparked outrage after posting a photo to social media Thursday showing seashells arranged to say "86 47," a phrase widely understood to mean to "get rid of" the 47th president. Though Comey later deleted the post and claimed it was misunderstood, many, including Trump, say the meaning was clear.
"He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant," Trump said Friday on Fox News. "If you’re the FBI director, and you don’t know what that meant, that meant ‘assassination,’ and it says it loud and clear."
Comey offered a follow-up statement online, saying he "didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence" and that it "never occurred to me."
Bongino strongly rejected that explanation, describing it as part of a larger pattern of misconduct. In his post, Bongino wrote:
FORMER FBI DIRECTOR JAMES COMEY MEETS WITH SECRET SERVICE AFTER CONTROVERSIAL '86 47' POST
The FBI seal inside the J. Edgar Hoover FBI building in Washington, D.C. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Bongino said he chose to post his statement now because his scheduled interview with FOX Business anchor Maria Bartiromo, which will air Sunday on "Sunday Morning Futures," was recorded earlier in the week, before the Comey post was made public.
"I’m addressing this now, rather than on our interview with Maria Bartiromo [Sunday], because we recorded that interview earlier in the week prior to the incident with Comey," he explained.
He closed with a message to the country that echoed his support for the law enforcement community and the reforms underway at the FBI.
"God bless America, and all those who defend Her," he said.
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Bongino, a former NYPD officer and longtime Secret Service agent, was appointed deputy director of the FBI earlier this year.
His leadership under Director Kash Patel reflects a broader effort by the Trump administration to restore accountability and integrity to the FBI after years of what many see as politically motivated misconduct.
The FBI did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for further comment.
Jasmine is a writer at Fox News Digital and a military spouse based in New Orleans. Stories can be sent to jasmine.baehr@fox.com
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fbi-deputy-director-dan-bongino-james-comey-shame-fbi-badge-again-86-47-post