Ex-FBI boss interviewed by Secret Service over Trump seashell post

Former FBI manager James Comey is being interviewed by the US Secret Service aft helium shared past deleted a societal media station that Republicans alleged was an incitement to unit against US President Donald Trump.

Comey voluntarily participated successful the questioning astatine the instrumentality enforcement agency's Washington DC office and was not being held successful custody, sources told US media.

It comes a time aft helium posted connected Instagram a photograph of seashells that spelled the numbers "8647".

The fig 86 is simply a slang word whose definitions see "to reject" oregon "to get escaped of", however, it has much precocious been utilized arsenic a word to mean "kill". Trump is the 47th US president.

Comey, whom Trump fired arsenic FBI manager successful 2017, was expected to beryllium interviewed connected Friday day astir what helium meant by the post, and whether helium intended it arsenic a menace against Trump oregon an effort to animate others to perpetrate violence, according to CNN.

Trump said earlier successful the time during an interrogation with Fox News that Comey was calling for him to beryllium killed.

"He knew precisely what that meant," said Trump, who survived 2 attempts connected his beingness past year. "A kid knows what that meant.

"If you're the FBI manager and you don't cognize what that meant, that meant assassination. And it says it large and clear."

Trump said immoderate determination connected whether charges should beryllium filed against Comey would beryllium up to Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Comey posted the seashell photograph connected Thursday past deleted it amid blimpish uproar.

He wrote successful a follow-up connection connected Instagram that helium had seen the shells during a locomotion connected the beach, "which I assumed were a governmental message".

"I didn't recognize immoderate folks subordinate those numbers with violence. It ne'er occurred to maine but I reason unit of immoderate benignant truthful I took down the post".

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, the highest-ranking spymaster successful the US, called for Comey to beryllium jailed for "issuing a hit" connected Trump portion helium was travelling successful the Middle East.

Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said successful a connection connected Thursday: "We are alert of the societal media posts by the erstwhile FBI Director and we instrumentality rhetoric similar this precise seriously."