Defense observers, however, have pointed out that the phrase “86” is widely used in restaurant and service industry settings as slang meaning something is unavailable or should be removed. Restaurant veterans have described it as “everyday lingo,” commonly used in non-threatening contexts.
The case is now being handled by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan, who has officially set a trial date for October 21. If the case moves forward past pretrial motions, Comey is expected to be arraigned on September 30 at the federal courthouse in New Bern, North Carolina.
Judge Flanagan, who was appointed to the bench by former President George W. Bush, has been characterized by court observers and Ballotpedia as leaning right-leaning in judicial outlook. She was randomly assigned to the case following the grand jury indictment.
Flanagan has served as an Article III federal judge for decades, having been confirmed by the U.S. Senate in July 2003. Before joining the federal bench, she worked as a federal magistrate judge and practiced law at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal in Washington, D.C., which later merged into Dentons, according to legal reporting.
Throughout her career, Judge Flanagan has presided over thousands of federal cases, giving her extensive experience handling complex criminal and civil matters now relevant to the high-profile Comey proceedings.
Comey’s legal team is expected to file multiple motions to dismiss the case before trial. Among their arguments are claims that the prosecution is politically motivated and represents what they describe as vindictive and selective enforcement. The judge has already acknowledged in court filings that these motions are expected, and they could play a key role in whether the case proceeds to trial.
Meanwhile, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche addressed the broader investigation in an interview, emphasizing that the case extends beyond a single social media post.
“Every case requires an investigation, and what you just showed is one part of that investigation. What you just showed is the Instagram post,” he told Fox News.
“Rest assured that the career Assistant United States Attorneys in North Carolina, the career FBI agents, the career Secret Service agents that investigated this case didn’t just look at the Instagram post and walk away,” he continued.
“That’s why you saw an indictment last week, notwithstanding the fact that it was last May that the post was made. So I am not permitted to get into details of what the grand jury heard or found, as you know, but rest assured that it’s not just the Instagram post that leads somebody to get indicted,” Blanche added.
At the same time, additional legal pressure is reportedly building against Comey on another front. Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia have allegedly reopened a long-dormant investigation into whether Comey improperly handled or leaked classified information.
That probe centers on Comey’s decision to transfer sensitive memos documenting private conversations with then-President Donald Trump to Columbia University law professor Daniel Richman, who then allegedly passed the material to The New York Times. Those disclosures later helped form the basis of a major May 2017 front-page story during the early stages of the Russia investigation.
The material fueled widespread media coverage and became a major flashpoint in the broader political controversy surrounding the Trump administration at the time.
If charges were to emerge from that probe, it would mark a significant escalation, potentially creating a third active legal front involving the former FBI director, alongside the North Carolina indictment and other ongoing reviews.
Taken together, the developments signal a rapidly expanding legal landscape surrounding Comey, with multiple jurisdictions, multiple allegations, and high-level political figures once again pulled into a deeply contentious and closely watched federal saga.
