Rep. Aaron Schock's aide resigns after report on racist Facebook posts

A spokesman for Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Illinois, resigned Thursday after liberal blog ThinkProgress reported that he compared two black people to zoo animals in a 2013 Facebook post, CBS News confirms.

According to ThinkProgress, Benjamin Cole, Schock's communications director, posted a series of videos on October 13, 2013 "mocking two African Americans outside of his DC apartment." Accompanying the first video, Cole wrote, "So apparently the closing of the National Zoo has forced the animals to conduct their mating rituals on my street." He included the hashtag "#gentrifytoday."

The video was uploaded during the partial government shutdown that closed the National Zoo, among other federal sites.

In a later post, headlined "#gentrifytoday Pt. 3," Cole uploaded another video and wrote, "This is where she finds another glass bottle, and breaks it on their stoop to use as a weapon."

The videos, ThinkProgress reports, "appeared to have been removed Wednesday." The race of the videos' subjects is not clear from the screenshots captured by the blog.

"I am extremely disappointed by the inexcusable and offensive online comments made by a member of my staff," Schock said in a statement obtained by the Journal-Star. "I would expect better from any member of my team. Upon learning about them I met with Mr. Cole and he offered his resignation which I have accepted."

According to Buzzfeed, it wasn't the first time Cole took to Facebook to offer some controversial commentary. In 2010, the website reported, Cole wrote that he "thinks they should build a mosque on the White House grounds," explaining in a follow-up comment that "it would be nice for President Obama to have his own house of worship."

The resignation caps off an already-rough week for Cole, who'd played a prominent role in an unusual story earlier this week about his boss's bold new office decor.

On Monday, Washington Post reporter Ben Terris was given a look at Schock's new digs, which were painted a bright red, festooned with gilded knick-knacks, and reportedly inspired by the British period drama "Downton Abbey." When Cole discovered that Terris was taking pictures, he tried to squash the story, telling the reporter he'd "created a bit of a crisis in the office."

"You've got a member [of Congress] willing to talk to you about other things," Cole told Terris over the phone. "Why sour it by rushing to write some gossipy piece?"

"You see, the congressman hasn't even seen the office yet," Cole added. "Surely, it wouldn't be fair for you to write about his office until he has the chance to see it." He later said Schock would be "happy to talk to you, just not about the office."

"I'm really sorry and want you to know this is not fun for me," Cole reassured the reporter.

The Post reported that Schock received the design services for free, prompting an ethics watchdog to file a complaint alleging an improper receipt of gifts by a public official. But Schock told ABC News on Wednesday that he expects to receive a bill from the interior designer, and that he'll pay up.

CBS News associate Capitol Hill producer Walter Cronkite contributed to this report.