Ex-FBI director James Comey has been charged with making a false statement and obstruction in a criminal case.
Comey was fired months into Donald Trump’s first presidency, in the middle of an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Fellow former FBI chief Robert Mueller took over the investigation, which found numerous contacts between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russian officials, but concluded that there was not enough evidence to establish a criminal conspiracy.
Mr Trump and his supporters labelled the investigation a “hoax” and a “witch hunt” used to undermine Mr Trump’s first administration – despite several government reviews showing that Moscow interfered on behalf of the Republican’s campaign.
The charges come days after the US president appeared to chide his attorney general, Pam Bondi, for not bringing criminal charges against Comey and other perceived political enemies quickly enough.
“We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility,” Mr Trump wrote, referencing the fact that he himself had been indicted and impeached multiple times. “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”
When she announced the charges, Ms Bondi said: “No one is above the law. Today’s indictment reflects this Department of Justice’s commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people.”
Mr Trump celebrated the charges as “JUSTICE IN AMERICA” in a Truth Social post, adding that Comey “was indicted by a Grand Jury on two felony counts for various illegal and unlawful acts”.
After he was fired, Comey became a prominent critic of the president, calling him “morally unfit” for office.
The criminal case against Comey, who served as FBI director from 2013 to 2017, does not concern the substance of the Russia investigation.
Instead, it accuses him of having lied to Congress in 2020 when he said he never authorised anyone to serve as an anonymous source to a reporter about the investigation.
An internal watchdog for the US Justice Department found evidence of numerous errors but no political bias concerning the FBI’s opening of the investigation into Russian election interference.
In a 2019 report, the watchdog faulted Comey for asking a friend to give memos detailing Comey’s one-on-one interactions with Mr Trump to the New York Times.
During Mr Trump’s first term, the Justice Department declined to pursue criminal charges against Comey.
The case against Comey is the starkest example of the Trump administration using law enforcement to target a critic, following the president’s promise of retribution against the former FBI chief during his 2024 election campaign.
If Comey is convicted of making a false statement and obstruction, he faces up to five years in prison.
