Lawyers for former FBI Director James Comey allege the U.S. Secret Service illegally surveilled him in May 2025 at the request of a high-level Justice Department official. The surveillance claims emerged in a federal court filing on Tuesday seeking dismissal of criminal charges accusing Comey of threatening President Donald Trump via social media.
The legal battle surrounding former FBI Director James Comey took a dramatic turn late Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Comey’s defense team filed a sweeping motion to dismiss his criminal indictment, arguing that the prosecution is the product of a vindictive and selective campaign by the administration. Alongside that motion, newly unsealed attorney affidavits and internal documents revealed explosive allegations regarding government misconduct during the early stages of the investigation.
The underlying federal indictment, brought against Comey in April, stems from an Instagram post he made in May 2025. Comey shared a photograph of seashells arranged on a North Carolina beach to spell out the numbers 8647
while on vacation with his wife, Patrice. Prosecutors claim the post constituted a threat against President Trump, the 47th president of the United States. Comey’s attorneys have pushed back aggressively against that characterization, arguing that dictionaries, common sense, and public usage point elsewhere.
Warrantless Phone Tracking and Surveillance Allegations
The most explosive revelations in the new court filings center on what Comey’s lawyers describe as knowingly conducted illegal electronic surveillance of the former FBI director. According to attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s affidavit, Secret Service personnel discussed pinging Comey’s cell phone without a warrant under an emergency exigency request as he and his wife drove back to Virginia from North Carolina.
Internal communications included in the filing show that initial resistance came from within the agency itself. One unnamed Secret Service supervisor expressed serious legal reservations about tracking the device without proof of an immediate threat to life.
“At that time we did not believe that anyone’s life was in immediate danger and legally it was a bad idea to ping the phone.”
Secret Service supervisor
Despite those warnings, the filings allege that the push for surveillance originated higher up the chain of command. The supervisor noted that another agent suggested the agency might do it anyway, and subsequent notes pointed directly to pressure from the Justice Department. The records state that the number three official at DOJ requested the exigency ping. Consequently, Comey’s phone was tracked and the couple was physically followed, including as they stopped to visit the grave of their deceased son.
The White House Connection and Scramble for Evidence
Legal filings indicate that the investigation enjoyed high-level attention from the outset. Documents show that the Secret Service sent frequent updates to Air Force One to brief President Trump directly before he spoke to the press about the social media post. On that same day, the agency formally instituted a new policy to treat the phrase ‘8647’ as coded language for threatening the commander-in-chief.
Investigators faced immediate hurdles trying to establish that the restaurant slang term 86
carried a violent meaning.
Meanwhile, defense filings highlight a stark contrast in how the phrase is treated elsewhere.
What Comes Next in the Federal Proceedings
The defense has asked U.S. Comey’s team also seeks a Franks hearing to examine whether law enforcement misled the magistrate judge who approved search warrants for digital accounts by relying on biased, estranged witnesses.
A Department of Justice spokesperson maintained that a North Carolina grand jury indicted Comey, and that he will face trial like any other defendant.
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