A North Carolina federal judge delayed former FBI Director James Comey’s trial on alleged threats against President Trump until 2027 while pending motions pile up.
U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan issued the order Friday, moving Comey’s arraignment from this week in New Bern to January and locking in a trial start no earlier than 2027 as she works through multiple defense and government filings.
Breitbart reported the continuance after federal prosecutors charged the longtime Trump critic over an Instagram photo of the numbers 8647 arranged in seashells on a beach.
Prosecutors argue the image is a threat. They say “86” is common restaurant shorthand for “get rid of,” and “47” can stand for Trump as the 47th president of the United States.
Comey’s defense team asked the judge in July to throw the case out, contending the photo could not count as “a true threat.” The team also sought more time.
In her order, Flanagan wrote that the seriousness of the allegations, the stack of pending motions, and the need to give defense counsel more preparation time all support a continuance.
"The gravity of the charges, pending motions and the need to provide defense counsel additional time to prepare for trial promote need for continuance,"
That calendar push means a former FBI director facing a presidential threat charge will not face a jury until well into the next presidential term cycle.
Comey has said Trump is targeting him because of his criticism. He remains a longstanding public critic of the president, who fired him in 2017.
Family and personnel fights around the Comeys have stayed in the headlines, including when Maurene Comey claimed the Trump administration fired her for being a “thought criminal.”
This latest indictment is the second time a grand jury has charged Comey during Trump’s second term. A judge dismissed the first case in November.
The seashell case now sits inside a longer record of clashes over FBI leadership, charging decisions, and who answers for them.
Trump has pressed former bureau chiefs for results before, including when he demanded accountability from Wray over the Butler assassination-attempt probe.
Federal prosecutors still must clear the pending motions Flanagan flagged. Defense lawyers still must prepare. The public still waits for a courtroom test of whether an Instagram beach photo of “8647” meets the legal line for a true threat against a sitting president.
Parallel legal pressure on high-profile Trump-era prosecutors has also intensified in Congress, as when Jim Jordan referred Jack Smith for criminal prosecution over alleged false statements to Congress.
None of that changes the core schedule Flanagan set. Arraignment slips to January. Trial does not begin before 2027. The charge remains tied to the seashell numbers and the prosecutors’ reading of “86” and “47.”
Comey posted the photo. Prosecutors called it a threat. His lawyers called it protected speech that never crossed into a true threat. A grand jury indicted him anyway. A federal judge has now moved the finish line years down the road.
Trump administration personnel fights at Justice have moved faster in other lanes, including the episode in which Trump fired a Seattle U.S. attorney less than an hour after the swearing-in.
Readers tracking bureau controversies also know the pattern from older FBI files, such as the declassified files on Swalwell and a suspected Chinese spy.
In Comey’s North Carolina case, the clock is the story for now. The judge cited gravity, motions, and defense prep. The result is simple: no trial until 2027.
A former FBI director charged over a public threat claim should not outrun the calendar. Justice delayed for years is justice the public cannot see.
