Court Filing: Trump Requested Secret Service Notes in Comey Inquiry, Lawyers Seek Dismissal

New court filings allege President Trump personally intervened in the Justice Department's handling of an investigation into former FBI director James Comey. Comey’s legal team says that intervention — including requests that Secret Service interview notes be sent to Air Force One for the president’s review — moots the case and warrants dismissal.

The Department of Justice charged Comey after he posted a photo of seashells on Instagram last year that, according to prosecutors, spelled out the numbers "86 47." The indictment argues that anyone "familiar with the circumstances" would view the message as a "serious expression of an intent to do harm to the president." Comey denies any violent intent, saying he only knew "86" as restaurant slang meaning to remove an item from the menu.

According to records turned over to Comey’s lawyers and described in their motion to dismiss, Secret Service agents first questioned Comey by phone hours after his May 15 Instagram post. Although an agent told Comey a phone interview would likely suffice, Comey agreed to come to Washington for additional questioning.

From that point, the filing contends, "high-level DOJ and White House officials (including the President) involved themselves in the investigation." Government documents reportedly show that Trump asked agents who conducted the interview to forward their notes to Air Force One; one internal memo quoted a notation that "POTUS was requesting a copy of the interview notes to use in his 6 p.m. press conference." A Secret Service agent described the matter as "a hot topic on the plane," and said Trump was "very interested."

The filing further alleges that agents followed Comey the next day during his drive to Washington despite lacking a warrant. One agent flagged the surveillance in the record as, legally, a "bad idea" because there was no "imminent danger to life" that would justify warrantless tracking. The agents reportedly tailed Comey and his wife even while they visited the grave of their deceased son.

Comey’s attorneys also say the department sought to demonstrate a violent meaning for "86 47" by interviewing Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, the notorious former Gambino underboss who has been linked to multiple murders. Gravano reportedly confirmed that the term can carry a violent connotation but noted that a "gangster would never use that term" because it would be too obvious to law enforcement.

In the hours after Comey’s post, the Secret Service briefly adopted a policy treating "86 47" as a formal threat to the president’s life. The agency quickly rescinded the change by the end of the day after it generated a large number of leads that did not include explicitly threatening language.

The filings also place the surveillance request at the direction of the department’s "number three" official. Although unnamed in the memo, that role corresponds to the Associate Attorney General — a position that, at the time, was not held by a Senate-confirmed official, the filing notes.

Comey’s lawyers argue that the president’s direct involvement in the investigation — and his request to personally review interview notes — undermines the Justice Department’s ability to prosecute the case without impermissible political interference.

The matter arises against the backdrop of longstanding tensions between Trump and Comey. Trump fired Comey during the FBI’s Russia probe after the 2016 election; a later special counsel investigation led by Robert Mueller described Russian election interference as "sweeping and systemic" and identified substantial evidence — though not charges — suggesting Trump obstructed justice by dismissing Comey.

The court will now consider Comey’s motion to dismiss. The filings present competing accounts of intent, procedure and appropriate boundaries between the White House and law enforcement — issues likely to draw judicial scrutiny as the case proceeds.