Mulaney’s “SNL” joke centered around the concept of leap years, as the host noted leap years were started under Julius Caesar. Mulaney added, “Another thing that happened under Julius Caesar, he was such a powerful maniac that all the senators grabbed knives, and they stabbed him to death. That would be an interesting thing if we brought that back now.”

Per the AP: “Two days after Mulaney’s ‘SNL’ monologue, law enforcement officials contacted Thomas McCarthy, the global chief security officer and senior vice president at NBC Universal, to express the agency’s desire to discuss the joke with the comedian’s attorneys. The Secret Service file included a report from Breitbart entitled, ‘SNL: John Mulaney Jokes that Senators Should Stab Trump Like Julius Caesar.’ The investigation into Mulaney was opened in March and closed in December.” Related Austin Butler Gives Emotional Tribute to His Late Mother in ‘SNL’ Monologue Cecily Strong Says Goodbye to ‘SNL’ in Final ‘Weekend Update’ Appearance Related 23 Controversial Film and TV Book Adaptations That Rankled Their Audiences and Authors Quentin Tarantino’s Favorite Movies: 48 Films the Director Wants You to See
According to the Secret Service files, Mulaney made “no direct threats towards Trump” and thus no wrongdoing was found on the comedian’s part. The files did include other jokes from Mulaney’s “SNL” monologue, including one bit where the comedian quipped that he “disliked the Founding Fathers immensely,” adding, “I hate when people are like, ‘God has never created such a great group of men than the Founding Fathers.’ Yeah, the ’92 Bulls. That’s a perfect metaphor for the United States. When I was a boy, the United States was like Michael Jordan in 1992. Now the United States is like Michael Jordan now.” Speaking to Kimmel in December, Mulaney said, “The person vetting me was very understanding that the joke had nothing to do with Donald Trump because it was an elliptical reference to him. I didn’t say anything about him. In terms of risk assessment, no one who’s ever looked at me thought I registered above a one.” “I said I have been making jokes about him since 2007, so I have been making fun of him for 13 years,” Mulaney added. “They said if it’s a joke, then I am cleared by the Secret Service.” Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.