Federal officials said they were looking into a now-deleted social media post by Comey last week, where he posted a photo of seashells that spelled out “86 47″. Many MAGA loyalists and Trump himself accused Comey of calling for his assassination with that post.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary traces “86” to “1930s soda-counter slang meaning that an item was sold out. There is varying anecdotal evidence about why the term eighty-six was used, but the most common theory is that it is rhyming slang for nix.”

Former FBI director James Comey says he's still a bit bewildered over how a seemingly innocent Instagram shot of shells arranged in the sand led to allegations by Donald Trump among others that he was calling for the president's assassination.

James Comey’s controversial, now-deleted Instagram photo of seashells spelling out the numbers “86 47” only adds to a long list of social media posts from the former FBI director that have sparked a mix of both anger and — more often — a heavy dose of eye rolls.

Former FBI Director James Comey defended his Instagram post of '86 47' seashells, saying he had no ill intent but that he did regret the distraction it caused.

Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo slammed former FBI director James Comey for going on MSNBC to “lie” that his controversial “86 47” social media post was “totally innocent.” The Instagram image posted on Thursday,

After being investigated by the Trump administration over a social media post, James Comey tells Nicolle Wallace his advice for people under investigation by the administration. "Take prudent steps, but don't freak out.