FBI Director James Comey made headlines this past week when he put up a social media post that critics said was a coded call for violence against President Donald Trump.

The move brought condemnation from conservatives, with FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino charging that Comey had "brought shame to the FBI."

Bongino spends "an inordinate amount of time cleaning up messes left" by Comey

According to Fox News, the deputy FBI director made that allegation over the weekend in a social media post of his own.

"The Director and I spend an inordinate amount of time cleaning up messes left behind by former Director Comey. And his latest actions are no exception," Bongino wrote on Saturday.

That remark came days after Comey put up a picture on his Instagram account which showed a collection of seashells that had been arranged to form the numbers "86" and "47."

Just James Comey causally calling for my dad to be murdered.

This is who the Dem-Media worships. Demented!!!! pic.twitter.com/4LUK6crHAT

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) May 15, 2025

Many users of the platform have pointed out how Trump is America's 47th president while the number 86 is sometimes used as a slang term for eliminating or killing someone.

FBI is "in communication with the Secret Service" about Comey's post

FBI Director Kash Patel addressed the matter on X, writing, "We are aware of the recent social media post by former FBI Director James Comey, directed at President Trump."

"We are in communication with the Secret Service and Director Curran. Primary jurisdiction is with SS on these matters and we, the FBI, will provide all necessary support," he added.

Republican lawmakers also took note, including Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn, who wrote, "James Comey is posting cryptic messages online alluding to getting rid of President Trump."

"Would he like to explain what he means by this given the assassination attempts on President Trump?" Blackburn went on to ask.

Trump says Comey "knew exactly" what the numbers 86 and 47 meant

For his part, Comey subsequently deleted the image and put up another post in which he denied knowing that "some folks associate those numbers with violence."

Trump did not accept that explanation, however, telling Fox News, "He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant."

"If you’re the FBI director, and you don’t know what that meant, that meant ‘assassination,’ and it says it loud and clear," the president insisted.