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hookaleft

(1,112 posts) Fri May 29, 2026, 09:03 PM Friday

Lead federal prosecutor in James Comey seashells photo case steps aside

Source: NBC News

Matthew Petracca, a former Republican county committeeman, was the rookie federal prosecutor who brought the highly criticized case to a federal grand jury.

A rookie federal prosecutor who brought a case accusing former FBI Director James Comey of threatening President Donald Trump’s life by posting a photo of seashells on Instagram has stepped off the case.

Matthew Petracca, who had been recently hired as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of North Carolina, is no longer on the Comey case, according to a court filing.

Petracca also dropped off of other criminal cases in the Eastern District of North Carolina in recent days, according to court filings. Petracca is a former Republican county committeeman in New Jersey whom Eastern District of North Carolina W. Ellis Boyle hired months ago, NBC News has reported. Boyle oversaw the highly criticized case, which will go to trial in October if it manages to survive legal challenges.

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Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/lead-federal-prosecutor-james-comey-seashells-photo-case-steps-rcna345342

7 replies

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Lead federal prosecutor in James Comey seashells photo case steps aside (Original Post) hookaleft Friday OP

The news this Friday night has been delightful from the seashells, Kennedy Arts Center and slush fund rulings Deuxcents Friday #1

Plus, a pretty good day in the market! Mark.b2 Friday #2

A glorious trifecta riversedge Saturday #4

Sounds like he's looking for another job FakeNoose Friday #3

This message was self-deleted by its author Vinca Saturday #5

Must have decided he likes his law license. Vinca Saturday #5

Deadline Legal Blog-Ruling in '8647' civil protest case signals strength of James Comey's criminal defense LetMyPeopleVote 17 hrs ago #7

Deuxcents

(27,859 posts)

1. The news this Friday night has been delightful from the seashells, Kennedy Arts Center and slush fund rulings

Reply to hookaleft (Original post)

Fri May 29, 2026, 09:09 PM

Friday

May we have some more, please? 😊

Mark.b2

(829 posts)

2. Plus, a pretty good day in the market!

Reply to Deuxcents (Reply #1)

Fri May 29, 2026, 09:15 PM

Friday

Let’s hope all this good news rolls into next week, too!

riversedge

(81,752 posts)

4. A glorious trifecta

Reply to Deuxcents (Reply #1)

Sat May 30, 2026, 01:21 AM

Saturday

FakeNoose

(42,640 posts)

3. Sounds like he's looking for another job

Reply to hookaleft (Original post)

Fri May 29, 2026, 10:06 PM

Friday

Smart man ... if he stays at DoJ he'll probably lose his law license... sooner or later.

Response to hookaleft (Original post)

Vinca This message was self-deleted by its author.

Vinca

(54,434 posts)

5. Must have decided he likes his law license.

Reply to hookaleft (Original post)

Sat May 30, 2026, 07:59 AM

Saturday

For the second time this morning, one of my posts appeared twice and one had to be deleted. Is it just my computer????

LetMyPeopleVote

(182,853 posts)

7. Deadline Legal Blog-Ruling in '8647' civil protest case signals strength of James Comey's criminal defense

Reply to hookaleft (Original post)

Tue Jun 2, 2026, 07:47 PM

17 hrs ago

In a case unrelated to James Comey’s, a judge said it’s “difficult to fathom” how a flag bearing those numbers could be seen as a “true threat.”

Ruling in â€˜8647â€™ civil protest case signals strength of James Comeyâ€™s criminal defense
"In a case unrelated to James Comeyâ€™s, a judge said itâ€™s â€œdifficult to fathomâ€ how a flag bearing those numbers could be seen as a â€œtrue threat.â€"
www.ms.now/deadline-whi...
— Karen (Harris/Walz Alaskan Democrat) (@danceswithseagulls.bsky.social) 2026-06-02T20:19:32.221Z

https://www.ms.now/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/james-comey-seashells-post-instagram-8647-ruling-civil-case

The Trump Justice Department has alleged that when James Comey posted an image of seashells arranged as “86 47” last year, a reasonable observer familiar with the circumstances would have interpreted the former FBI director’s social media post as a serious expression of intent to harm the 47th president.

The indictment looked weak when the DOJ brought it in April. More than anything, it looked like the latest attempt to prosecute one of the president’s political targets, after a previous indictment against Comey was dismissed in Virginia.

Regardless of the administration’s motivations, a new ruling in an unrelated case shows the difficulty the DOJ faces in its latest Comey prosecution.

That ruling came Monday, when a federal judge in Washington sided with a group that wanted to protest the administration with a flag displaying “8647.” U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss wrote that it was “difficult to fathom” how the government “could have concluded that a reasonable observer would view the flag as a true threat.” The Obama-appointed judge noted that the “term ‘86’ is used far more often to mean ‘throw out’ than ‘kill.’”.....

He noted that the “86” term “comes from 1930s soda-counter slang meaning that an item was sold out” and that it “may have been used because it rhymes with ‘nix.’”

The judge emphasized that context is key when evaluating whether the numbers can amount to a “true threat.” Analyzing the case before him, he wrote that “the relevant context makes clear that no reasonable observer could have viewed Plaintiff’s display of the flag as a threat to the President’s life or physical safety.”....

Viewed through that lens, it’s “difficult to fathom,” to use the judge’s phrase, how an Instagram post of seashells in the sand can clear the high bar of criminal culpability.

This case is not directly binding but will be cited in the Comey case. The Comey case will never make it to a jury. I was amused to see that the lead attorney on this case has resigned from this case.

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