Former FBI Director James Comey vowed not to stop criticizing President Donald Trump despite the administration’s criminal against him during his first public interview since the government’s latest indictment against him.
“Donald Trump has a bottomless desire to gain revenge against those who’ve criticized him,” Comey told MS NOW’s Nicole Wallace on Monday. “And I’m not going to stop criticizing him because I think that’s required if you care about America.”
Trump’s Justice Department indicted Comey for a second time last month, this time over an Instagram post Comey published in May 2025 featuring a picture of seashells spelling out “8647.” The number 86 is slang commonly used in restaurants meaning to “throw out,” cancel or refuse service to a customer, while 47 is often used to refer to Trump as the 47th U.S. president.
The Justice Department accused Comey of making a threatening statement against Trump with that photo. Comey has maintained he did not the phrase could be interpreted as violent.
The Trump administration first indicted Comey, a vocal Trump critic, in October on charges of making a false statement to Congress and obstructing a congressional investigation. Comey pleaded not guilty and the case was later dismissed.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has insisted that the Trump administration’s new indictment against Comey is “not just about a single Instagram post” featuring seashells, but he has declined to disclose what other evidence the government might have against him.
Comey said Monday that his family’s association with him has had consequences, referring to family members who have lost government jobs amid his legal battles.
“It’s bad when someone you love is indicted,” Comey told MS NOW, adding, “Because I’ve been a critic of DT, I’m a target.”
Comey said his daughter Maurene Comey, a former federal prosecutor, was fired “only because she has my last name.”
In July 2025, the Justice Department fired Maurene Comey from her role as senior trial counsel for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. She challenged her termination in federal court, arguing she was removed because of her father.
“That’s stupid. That’s immoral. That’s illegal in my view,” Comey said of his daughter’s firing.
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While he said he could not explicitly defend himself because of court rules surrounding the ongoing case, Comey told MS NOW: “I am not only not guilty, I am innocent.”
“There’s a cost to speaking up in this strange, awful era we’re in now,” Comey said.
Despite his challenges, Comey said he remains optimistic. He reaffirmed his “faith in the independent federal judiciary,” saying that “they believe in something and it’s very different from the way Donald Trump approaches justice.”
Looking ahead, Comey said another leg will be added to the “wobbly stool” of democracy in the U.S. during the midterm elections, when Democrats hope to make significant gains.
Comey also called on other high-ranking officials who have been targeted by the Trump, such as former Attorney General Bill Barr, to speak out against the administration’s weaponization of the Justice Department.
“There’s a real threat that we become numb to this,” Comey said, reminding Americans to “pinch yourself constantly” because “this is not who we are.”
On Friday, a federal judge set Comey’s trial date on the latest charges for July 15.
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW, with a focus on how global events and foreign policy shape U.S. politics. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.