Ex-Trump advisor Alina Habba battles ‘The View’ co-hosts over James Comey indictment

Hostin asked Habba, “Do you think Comey’s post rises to the level of a criminal threat against the life of the president and supports an indictment?”

“I do,” Habba responded. “After Comey’s post — and this is where I go back to Saturday’s events — the responsibility of certain individuals like us — we all have a very big voice. He is a former FBI director. He knows what 8647 meant. There’s no question about it.”

Comey has been indicted for a second time, after being indicted last year on perjury and obstruction charges that were later dismissed by a federal judge. The Justice Department’s latest action signals an escalating probe into Comey’s conduct after his time leading the bureau. Investigators have reviewed a May 2025 Instagram post by Comey showing shells on a beach arranged as “86 47,” which drew widespread attention online.

Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announces a major drug bust during a press conference on July 1, 2025, at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Peter W. Rodino Jr. Federal Building in Newark, New Jersey. Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post

Some interpreted “86 47” as a message tied to President Donald Trump, the 47th president, though Comey previously described it as a “cool shell formation.” Details surrounding the charges and scope of the latest indictment remain limited as the case develops.

As Hostin and co-host Joy Behar argued that “86” didn’t mean kill, Habba pointed out that Comey should have known what it meant as former head of the FBI.

“Let me just tell you what happened after James Comey’s post,” Habba said. “A gentleman posted that about me. He posted on Twitter [sic], ’86 Habba,’ and he was also charged. He was charged in Florida, and he was held accountable because you cannot do it.”

Hostin argued that the term “86” does not mean to kill. The View

“Now, this is an FBI director,” she continued. “We have responsibilities. You guys have responsibilities not to call the president certain things or say things that could incite violence. I most certainly think after Saturday, I have a completely new perspective on how important our voices are and how we use them.”

Hostin and Behar raised rhetoric by Trump about Democrats, which Habba said she has not seen but that no one should be inciting violence.

“Here’s directly how I feel about this: nobody should be inciting violence. Period. That’s my perspective,” Habba responded. “But you have to remember something. The Department of Justice brings real cases. We are not Jack Smith, we are not Letitia James. We bring real cases against people.”

Comey posted the controversial image to his Instagram last year. comey/Instagram

Hostin said she believed it was a “vindictive prosecution against Comey” directed by Trump and asked Habba, “As Trump’s personal attorney, you actually were sanctioned nearly a million dollars for filing a frivolous civil lawsuit against Comey, against Hillary Clinton and others that a federal judge called ‘political grievances masquerading as legal claims.’ So why should anyone believe this pattern of targeting Trump’s enemies is about justice and not revenge?”

“If you think that the Russia collusion hoax, if you think that the things that we’ve now seen evidence of in this Department of Justice aren’t real, I’d just tell you to sit tight because things are coming,” Habba said. “Because what they did was weaponize. I don’t want to hear about weaponization because the reason you all know who I am is because of weaponization.”

“I sat through targeting, people saying, ‘We’re going to get Trump,’ and then a Hillary Clinton-appointed judge sanctioned me for suing Hillary Clinton,” she continued. “By the way, I’m proud of that. I’m proud of what I did because it was the right thing to do.”

Habba served as a top prosecutor in New Jersey, and as an advisor to former U. S. Attorney General Pam Bondi after an appellate court found in December that Bondi improperly appointed her as U. S. attorney.