The FBI is reportedly considering a “showy” arrest and perp walk of its now-indicted former Director James Comey — and has already suspended an agent who refused to take part, according to multiple sources cited by CBS News.
Comey was charged last week with lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding. The move came after President Donald Trump publicly pressed Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate his longtime adversary.
A grand jury indicted Comey on Sept. 25, and he was issued a summons to appear in federal court in Virginia on Oct. 9 for arraignment. His attorneys had agreed to bring him to court voluntarily, two sources said to CBS News.
But that same day, FBI leadership reportedly discussed hauling Comey in rather than waiting for him to appear on his own. A source familiar with the conversations told CBS News that leadership wanted “large, beefy” agents to carry out the arrest “in full kit,” including Kevlar vests and outerwear emblazoned with the FBI logo.
The plan, according to the source, was for a supervisory special agent in the violent crimes division of the Washington Field Office to assemble the team. However, the agent refused, believing such a display would be “inappropriate and highly unusual” for a white-collar defendant like Comey.