GOP seeks to bar James Comey from federal positions
Lawmakers on the House Republican Study Committee (RSC) have proposed a resolution that aims to block former FBI Director James Comey from ever taking a role in the federal government again because of a now-deleted social media post that read "8647."
Republicans, including President Trump, have interpreted Comey's post of seashells on a beach on Thursday as a call to assassinate the 47th president.
The proposed House GOP resolution "urges the relevant authorities to take every relevant action to ensure that [Comey] is never again permitted to serve as an employee of the federal government" and requests the Justice Department "conduct a full and comprehensive investigation … and release the findings of that investigation to the relevant House Committees and the public."
Comey, 64, has denied that the Instagram post was a call for Trump's death and clarified in a follow-up statement that he "didn't realize some folks associate those numbers with violence."
"It never occurred to me, but I oppose violence of any kind so I took down the post," he wrote.
The numeral "86" is typically understood as slang for rejecting or throwing out something or someone.
But RSC Chair Rep. August Pfluger (Texas), one of the authors of the House resolution, called Comey's social media post a "shocking betrayal of the trust once placed in him by the American people" and accused Comey of "the unthinkable: calling for violence against our Commander-in-Chief."
"That someone who once held one of our nation's most sacred positions of law enforcement would incite such dangerous rhetoric is not just alarming — it's disqualifying and un-American," Pfluger said in a statement. "This resolution demands the accountability and transparency the American people deserve, ensuring Comey never again holds a position of public trust."
The resolution states that "Congress must take all available action to hold Director Comey accountable, preserve the rule of law, and protect our legal institutions from those that seek to sow discord and promote violence against their political opponents."
A Secret Service spokesperson said in a statement that the agency will "vigorously investigate anything that can be taken as a potential threat against our protectees."
“We are aware of the social media posts by the former FBI Director and we take rhetoric like this very seriously. Beyond that, we do not comment on protective intelligence matters," the spokesperson said.
CNN reported Friday, citing unnamed law enforcement sources, that Comey agreed to a voluntary interview at the Secret Service's Washington Field Office later in the day.
Comey and Trump have been longtime foes since Comey, as FBI director, launched an investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election. Trump fired him from the job as the investigation was ongoing.