Secret Service 'illegally' surveilled Comey in Trump '8647' threat case: court filing - CNBC

Lawyers for former FBI Director James Comey have asked a North Carolina federal judge to dismiss an indictment accusing him of threatening to kill President Donald Trump, citing vindictive and selective prosecution.
The charges, filed in April in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, stem from a May 2025 Instagram photo Comey posted showing seashells arranged as "8647" on a North Carolina beach, which Trump characterized as a threat of "assassination."
The Tuesday night filing alleges the U.S. Secret Service "knowingly conducted illegal electronic surveillance" of Comey at the request of a high-level official, identified as the "number three" person at the Department of Justice.
According to the filing, a Secret Service supervisor described the warrantless surveillance as "legally questionable" but suggested the agency "might do it anyway."
The surveillance reportedly tracked Comey and his wife as they traveled back to Washington, D.C., from North Carolina, including a stop to visit the grave of their deceased son.
Comey's attorneys claim the Secret Service coordinated closely with the DOJ and Trump directly, sending frequent updates to Air Force One in response to the president's requests for information ahead of speaking to the press about the post.