Secret Service felt pressured to surveil Comey after '86 47' seashell post, court documents show

After former FBI Director James Comey posted a photo on social media spelling out "86 47" with seashells, which the Trump administration claimed was a veiled threat against the president, some Secret Service agents and supervisors felt pressured to surveil Comey, according to internal documents. 

Trump and his aides were deeply concerned about the post and directed the Secret Service to surveil Comey. Some agents and supervisors argued they didn't have the legal authority to secretly track Comey's phone without a warrant, MS NOW reported. 

Law enforcement could invoke emergency powers, but only if they believed Comey posed an imminent threat to someone's life. A mid-level supervisor in the Washington field office wrote in an email that the agents didn't believe anyone's lift was in danger, making the surveillance legally questionable, internal documents included in court filings by Comey's attorney, Patrick Fitzerald, show. 

However, a top Justice Department official told them he wanted them to go forward with the surveillance despite their objections. The next day, May 16, agents accessed Comey's signal to determine his location, and they then followed his car as he and his wife drove north through North Carolina toward their suburban Virginia home.

The documents were filed as part of Comey's effort to dismiss the current charges he faces for allegedly threatening Trump. 

A DOJ spokesperson said in a statement, “A North Carolina grand jury indicted Comey, and he’ll have his day in court like any other defendant. The Secret Service declined to comment.