Former Secret Service agent Richard Staropoli appeared on “The Ingraham Angle” Thursday and called for the FBI and Secret Service to fire senior leadership after former FBI Director James Comey posted the numbers ‘8647’ on social media, with many calling the post a threat to President Donald Trump.
Comey sparked outrage Thursday after posting a now-deleted Instagram photo of shells on a beach depicting ‘8647.’ Fox’s Laura Ingraham asked Staropoli about his “message” to both departments.
“I got to go back to what you said, though, that the FBI and the Secret Service still is filled with a lot of rot, because the goal of this administration is to clear out the rot. They want to clear out the rot,” Ingraham said. “They want to make it more efficient, make things more seamless and transparent, where possible, for the American public. I know they have dedicated people who want to do this. So your message to them tonight, after this obvious threat against the president’s life?”
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“Yeah, the obvious threat to the president’s life. They’ve got to get rid of the senior leadership and management at the FBI and the Secret Service. I don’t care if they fire them all and they threaten to sue. You know what? That’s why we’ve got the Department of Justice, and we’ve got Pam Bondi,” Staropoli said. “Let her and her people handle that.”
In Comey’s original post, the former FBI director said he found the “cool shell formation” on his beach walk Thursday. Hours later, Comey took to Instagram again, saying he took the photo down because he “didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence of any kind.”
Staropoli urged the FBI and Secret Service to comb through their senior leadership.
“But you’ve got to get these people out of here. There are plenty of people at the lower levels at both of those agencies that are dedicated, that are capable and that will do the job, put them in those leadership positions. This has got to stop, and it won’t if those people are allowed to stay there,” Staropoli said.
Ingraham asked Staropoli if he believes there won’t be “fruition in any meaningful way” of an investigation into Comey’s social media post due to the “current makeup.”
RELATED: Gabbard Accuses Former FBI Director Comey Of ‘Mob-Style’ Threat Against President Trump
“I doubt it will. Who are they going to send out there to do this investigation? And what investigation are they going to do? When I was at the Secret Service, if you were a construction worker and you were overheard saying something about the president, regardless of who it was, at least two agents were going to pay you a visit and put a report together,” Staropoli said.
“Let’s see what this is all about. Let’s see what happens now. This was clearly — this guy needs to be interviewed,” Staropoli added. “Let’s see if they’re going to release that to the public. Depending on who they send out, that’ll tell me how serious they are.”
Following Comey’s shell picture, FBI Director Kash Patel took to X saying the department is aware of the post “directed at” Trump, adding that the FBI is in communication with the Secret Service and will “provide all necessary support.”
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem said Thursday that the DHS and Secret Service are investigating the “threat.”
Secret Service staff also commented.
“We 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 & we take rhetoric like this very seriously. Beyond that, we do not comment on protective intelligence matters,” Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi wrote on X.
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
