A GOP lawmaker from Arizona is calling on Special Counsel Robert Mueller to step down in light of his close, personal relationship with former FBI Director James Comey, even as The Associated Press falsely claimed there is “no evidence” the two men are close.

Rep. Trent Franks, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, said that Mueller should remove himself from the investigation into the Russian involvement in the 2016 election.

As reported by Lifezette, Franks further stated that the relationship between Mueller and Comey, both former FBI directors and former Justice Department colleagues, is a major conflict of interest.

“Bob Mueller is in clear violation of federal code and must resign to maintain the integrity of the investigation into alleged Russian ties,” Franks said in a statement. “Those who worked under them have attested he and Jim Comey possess a close friendship, and they have delivered on-the-record statements effusing praise of one another.” He added that federal regulations require disqualification in cases of “a personal relationship with any person substantially involved in the conduct that is the subject of the investigation or prosecution.”

In June, Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, also called on Mueller to “recuse himself” from the investigation because of his “cozy relationship” with the former FBI director fired by President Donald J. Trump.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Trump confidante, has also said Mueller should step down, and for the same reason: His close, personal bond with Comey.

“To the degree that Comey’s involved, Mueller, in theory, should recuse himself,” he told Fox News’ Judge Jean Pirro in June. “The rules of justice are very simple. You cannot be investigating somebody you are a personal friend of. And that’s why this whole thing is so absurd… This whole thing is sick and we ought to understand how sick it is. If you look at who Mueller is hiring, it gets even sicker.”

Even Comey himself has told Congress that he hoped his firing and subsequent leaking of a memo he had written about a meeting with Trump would trigger the appointment of a special counsel. (Related: The Associated Press retracts the false claim that 17 intelligence agencies agree on Russian “interference.”)

“I asked a friend of mine to share the content of a memo with the reporter, I didn’t do it myself for a variety of reasons, but I asked him to because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel,” he told the Senate Intelligence Committee in June.

The next thing you know, one was appointed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein: Robert Mueller, and after Mueller had discussed the possibility of taking his (and Comey’s) old job back as FBI director the day before his appointment.

“The President did talk with him in the days before he was named special counsel,” Newsmax Media CEO Chris Ruddy, a friend of the president’s, told PBS after Mueller’s appointment, as reported by CNN.

“I think there’s a conflict there. He had a private conversation with the President on his views about all sorts of matters potentially about the investigation,” Ruddy said. “And the next day he’s now maybe using some of that information in his investigation.”

But despite the fact that everyone in the D.C. Swamp knows Comey and Mueller are tight, The Associated Press doesn’t. Here’s how the newswire service reported on Franks’ call for Mueller to resign:

Mueller and Comey, both known for their integrity and self-assuredness, served closely alongside each other in the Bush administration’s Justice Department, and Comey has described Mueller as “one of the finest people I’ve ever met.” But there’s little evidence that they are close friends.

Really?

Then The Washington Post’s May 2017 story calling the two “brothers in arms” and citing their “long friendship” is incorrect?

Is this CNN story about the “history” between Mueller and Comey false?

Is this report saying “they have been friends for years, including dinners and golf outings,” and that they have “a relationship that analysts said would not please the White House” bogus?

In the world of the “mainstream” media’s fake news reporting, this time the AP has really outdone itself.

J.D. Heyes is a senior writer for NaturalNews.com and NewsTarget.com, as well as editor of The National Sentinel.

Sources include:

Lifezette.com

CNN.com

TheNationalSentinel.com

SFChronicle.com