Former FBI Director James Comey once talked with President Donald Trump about impaling the heads of leakers and jailing journalists, according to Comey’s newly released memos.

Citing a discussion the two were having about whistleblowers, Comey writes, “I said something about the value of putting a head on a pike as a message. He replied by saying it may involve putting reporters in jail.”

But the dystopian fantasizing didn’t end there. Comey quotes a remark made by Trump which appears to refer to prison rape, and by his own admission, Comey laughed in response.

“They spend a couple days in jail, make a new friend, and they are ready to talk,” Comey recalls the president saying. “I laughed as we walked to the door Reince Priebus had opened,” Comey writes of his reaction.

Comey: “I said something about the value of putting a head on a pike as a message. He replied by saying it may involve putting reporters in jail.” pic.twitter.com/kb5npUs8Bj — Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) April 20, 2018

The remarks are particularly significant within the context of the Trump administration, which has treated journalists with dismissive hostility, the president openly encouraging such behavior in public forums since his campaign days.

Comey’s personal memos detailing his time in the White House and his interactions with Trump were revealed Thursday, with some redactions.

[Image via screengrab]

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