Elie Honig Mocks ‘Ridiculous’ Calls for James Comey To Be Arrested Over Trump Post: ‘This Is Not a Criminally Chargeable Threat’
CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig mocked the suggestion that former FBI Director James Comey should be prosecuted over a social media post about President Donald Trump.
On Thursday, the spotlight-seeking Comey posted on Instagram a photo of seashells arranged so that they read, “86 47,” a reference to the 45th and 47th president, who fired Comey during the 45 era. “Cool shell formation on my beach walk,” Comey wrote. “Historically, ’86’ means to eject someone from an establishment, particularly a bar or night club. Snopes notes that the number could also mean to kill a person.
The post kicked off a firestorm among conservatives, with Donald Trump Jr. tweeting, “Just James Comey causally [sic] calling for my dad to be murdered. This is who the Dem-Media worships. Demented!!!!” Meanwhile, the White House said Comey’s post was “being taken seriously” by the administration.
Comey later deleted the post, stating, “It never occurred to me” that it could be interpreted as a call to violence against Trump.
Appearing on CNN’s The Source shortly after the kerfuffle, Honig was asked by Kaitlan Collins about potential legal ramifications for the former director.
“Listen to what the Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard – just to give you a sense of what administration officials are saying – what she just said tonight,” Collins said, teeing up a clip of Gabbard on Fox News’s Jesse Watters Primetime.
“Do you believe Comey should be in jail?” the host asked.
“I do,” Gabbard replied. “Any other person with a position of influence that he has, people who take very seriously what a guy of his stature, his experience, and what the propaganda media has built him up to be.”
Noem noted that FBI Director Kash Patel and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had called for investigations.
Honig bashed the idea:
That’s ridiculous. I mean, look, I am no fan of Jim Comey’s. I’ve been very critical of a lot of the things he’s done. I think posting this was extremely reckless, to use a phrase that he once used, and stupid. He has acknowledged that. He took it down. He said, I should not have posted this.
This is not criminal. This is not a criminally chargeable threat against the president. It’s political speech. It’s way too broad. It’s stupid, it’s reckless. It’s not criminal. That’s just hyperbole that you’re hearing from the cabinet members there.
Watch above via CNN.
