By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
Former FBI Director James Comey will not face trial this year in the federal case stemming from his “8647” Instagram post after a judge agreed to postpone proceedings into early 2027.
U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan declined Friday to establish a new trial date and moved Comey’s arraignment to January, according to NBC News.
Comey’s attorneys had requested a four-month postponement of proceedings scheduled for next month as they prepare several challenges to the prosecution. The Justice Department did not oppose the request.
Comey has not yet entered a plea.
The prosecution centers on a photograph Comey posted to Instagram in May 2025 showing seashells arranged to form “8647.”
“Cool shell formation on my beach walk,” Comey wrote with the photograph.
Federal prosecutors allege the image constituted a threat against Trump, with “47” interpreted as a reference to the 47th president and “86” treated by prosecutors as language conveying a threat to eliminate or kill him.
The meaning of “86” is disputed. NBC News noted that the term is widely used in restaurants to mean that an item is unavailable or canceled.
A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina subsequently indicted Comey on two felony counts.
The first count alleges that Comey knowingly and willfully made a threat to take the life of or inflict bodily harm upon the president of the United States.
The second alleges that he knowingly and willfully transmitted through interstate and foreign commerce a communication containing a threat to kill President Donald Trump.
Flanagan, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, had previously been overseeing a schedule under which Comey’s trial was tentatively set for July 15. Comey’s attorneys first sought to move the proceedings to October and later requested another delay.
The defense is also preparing multiple motions seeking dismissal of the indictment, including a challenge alleging that the prosecution was improperly driven by Trump’s animus toward the former FBI director.
Comey’s lead attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald, a former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, told the court that additional time is necessary in part because discovery from federal prosecutors remains incomplete.
“Mr. Comey expects to file multiple motions on constitutional grounds seeking dismissal of the indictment. Some of these motions may be dependent upon the discovery to be produced by the Government, and may require extensive briefing,” Fitzgerald wrote.
“Discovery is still forthcoming from the Government. For that reason, Mr. Comey respectfully requests that the Court extend the current scheduling deadlines, and set the following schedule for motions and arraignment,” he added.
The delay gives Flanagan additional time to resolve those motions before determining when the case will proceed to trial.
Comey had been scheduled to appear Wednesday at the federal courthouse in New Bern, North Carolina, for his arraignment. That hearing has now been moved to January, leaving the case on track to continue into early 2027.
Original article
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