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The federal prosecutor handling the Justice Department’s criminal case against former FBI Director James Comey over his “86 47” seashell Instagram post has stepped down, according to a new court filing.
A notice of substitution filed Friday in the Eastern District of North Carolina says Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Severo will replace Matthew Petracca “as counsel for the government.”
The filing from U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina Ellis Boyle requested that Petracca be removed from the court docket but did not explain the change. Boyle had hired the rookie prosecutor for the case months ago.
Comey is facing two federal charges and up to 10 years in prison for his sharing the Instagram post showing seashells arranged to read “86 47,” potentially signaling would-be political assassins. Prosecutors have alleged the post amounted to “a serious expression of an intent to do harm” to President Donald Trump, the 47th president.
JAMES COMEY TELLS COLBERT WHAT LED TO HIM POSTING CONTROVERSIAL ’86 47′ INSTAGRAM POST
After being fired, former FBI Director James Comey continued to only press for political toppling of President Donald Trump, including posting a controversal ’86 47′ seashell photo right before releasing a book publicly attacking the president. (Alex Kraus/Bloomberg/Getty Images and Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
The number “86” is a common restaurant term for getting rid of or stopping service of an item, but Trump and his prosecutors argue it is also well known to law enforcement as a mob term for assassination.
“Threatening the life of the President of the United States is a grave violation of our nation’s laws,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in an April 28 statement at the time the two-count indictment for threatening the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce was announced.
“The grand jury returned an indictment alleging James Comey did just that, at a…
