Former FBI director James Comey says claim that his ‘8647’ Instagram post was threatening is ‘crazy’

Former FBI director James Comey completely dismissed claims his “8647” social media post last week was in any way threatening to President Donald Trump, calling such accusations “crazy” and the message “completely innocent.”

Comey, in his first public remarks on the incident, explained to Nicolle Wallace in an interview on MSNBC Monday evening that he and his wife spotted the numbers, arranged in seashells, during a recent walk on a beach.

The couple initially puzzled over the numbers, he said. Then Comey’s wife mentioned that when she was a server in a restaurant, “86” was the term staff used to remove a dish from the menu. Comey told her that when he was younger, kids would use “86” to mean “to ditch a place.”

The number 47 apparently referred to the 47th president, Donald Trump, he noted.

He recalled saying, “That’s really clever,” Comey told Wallace.

He took a photo of the seashells and posted it on his Instagram. That’s when MAGA went bonkers, insisting the post was a threat to the president, which Trump whole-heartedly agreed with.

“He knew exactly what that meant,” Trump said later. “A child knows what that meant. 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 said he thought nothing of the post until Trump and his supporters erupted.

“l I heard ... that people were saying it was some sort of a call for assassination, which is crazy,” he told Wallace.

Comey deleted the post, and issued a statement saying it was never intended to be a call for violence.

“Even if I think it’s crazy, I don’t want to be associated with violence of any kind,” he said. Comey noted that he regretted the “distraction and the controversy around” the post, but he again underscored that the message was "totally innocent."

Comey said he had gone to the beach for a walk for a bit of relaxation before the publication of his upcoming thriller, “FDR Drive, a Crime Novel.”

But instead of some down time, he got a call from the Secret Service, and voluntarily went to the Washington, D.C. field office for an interview.

Comey mostly shrugged off the situation.

“It’s not my first rodeo,” he said, noting he was fired by Trump during the president’s first administration.

But he did complain of the administration’s “use of power to aim at individuals, eroding the rule of law.”

Comey reassured listeners: “The rule of law is still our saving grace. We have a judiciary in this country that will support the truth. Take solace in that.”

He added: ”Take prudent steps, but don’t freak out. These people are not good enough for you to be freaked out about. Protect yourself, be measured about the effect the threat has on you, and know that you’re going to be okay.”