Ex-FBI Director James Comey, a fierce critic of Donald Trump, has been criminally charged with lying to Congress.
Mr Comey was indicted by a grand jury on criminal charges of false statements and obstruction on Thursday.
Since Mr Trump's return to the White House earlier this year, his Justice Department has been examining Mr Comey's handling of the FBI probe into alleged contacts between Russians and the 2016 Trump campaign.
The probe is being led by Lindsey Halligan, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia - who was once Mr Trump's personal lawyer.
Reacting to the charges, the President said: "JUSTICE IN AMERICA!
"One of the worst human beings this country has ever been exposed to is James Comey, the former corrupt head of the FBI.
Since Mr Trump's return to the White House earlier this year, his Justice Department has been examining Mr Comey's handling of the 'Russiagate' investigation
| REUTERSTRENDING
Stories
Videos
Your Say
"Today he was indicted by a grand jury on two felony counts for various illegal and unlawful acts.
"He has been so bad for our Country, for so long, and is now at the beginning of being held responsible for his crimes against our Nation. Make America Great Again!"
In 2020, Mr Comey had testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee - and denied that he had authorised the disclosure of sensitive information to the media.
That stemmed from a 2017 incident in which Mr Comey - FBI Director at the time - shared seven memos documenting private conversations he had with Trump.
He then gave the memos to his friend, Columbia Law professor Daniel Richman, who went on to leak details to the New York Times.
LATEST FROM THE WHITE HOUSE:
This led to Robert Mueller being appointed as a special counsel to probe whether Mr Trump colluded with Russia to interfere in the 2016 election.
The first charge announced on Thursday accuses the former FBI boss of making "false statements within the jurisdiction of the legislative branch of the United States Government" during his 2020 testimony.
The alleged lie relates to how he told a Senator on the committee that he had not "authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports" regarding an FBI probe.
The second charge - obstruction of a congressional proceeding - accuses Comey of "corruptly endeavouring to influence, obstruct and impede the due and proper exercise of the power of inquiry under which an investigation was being had before the Senate Judiciary Committee by making false and misleading statements" before that committee.
The Justice Department had also asked the grand jury to consider a third charge against Comey - but the the jury agreed that only the two above were backed by enough evidence to be tried in court.
Earlier this week, the President name-dropped the ex-FBI chief on social media as he blasted Attorney General Pam Bondi for not moving quickly enough to bring criminal charges against his critics, writing: "JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW."
Then, Ms Bondi appeared to hit back.
Donald Trump blasted Attorney General Pam Bondi (pictured) for not moving quickly enough to bring criminal charges against his critics
| REUTERS"No one is above the law," Bondi said shortly after the news broke. Without specifically mentioning Comey, she added: "Today’s indictment reflects this Department of Justice’s commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people.
"We will follow the facts in this case."
Also in 2016, Mr Comey drew notoriety just a week before election day when he announced that the FBI had reopened an investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails.
Democrats first criticised him for his timing, then Republicans voiced fury of their own when he revealed that no charges would be brought against eventual loser Mrs Clinton.
More From GB News