Former FBI director James Comey indicted

WASHINGTON - Former FBI director James Comey was indicted in relation to the disclosure of sensitive information on Thursday, only days after US President Donald Trump urged relevant actions against him.

Comey was charged with making a false statement and obstruction of a congressional proceeding by a federal grand jury.

On learning the indictment, Trump described Comey in a post on social media as "one of the worst human beings this country has ever been exposed to". On Sept 20, in another post, he pressured Attorney General Pamela Bondi to accelerate the investigation into Comey, one of the president's prominent critics.

"No one is above the law," said Bondi, adding the indictment reflects the Justice Department's commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people.

The charges against Comey stem from his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2020. He insisted at that time that he had never authorized leaks to the media regarding the Russia investigation or a separate investigation into then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

However, according to a 2018 Justice Department report, Comey's deputy, Andrew McCabe, stated that Comey had permitted him to disclose information to the press. But that report also found that McCabe made multiple false or misleading statements.

Comey denied the charges against him in a video posted on Instagram. "My family and I have known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump, but we couldn't imagine ourselves living any other way," Comey said.

"My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system," said the former FBI director.

According to The Washington Post, the White House recently forced out the previous top prosecutor handling the case and replaced him with Bondi, one of Trump's former personal attorneys.

Comey served as FBI Director from 2013 to 2017. He was appointed by former President Barack Obama and was dismissed early in Trump's first presidential term. Since the FBI, under his leadership, launched an investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election and its potential ties to the Trump campaign, Comey has been a "thorn" in Trump's eyes.

In 2018, after his dismissal, Comey published the book A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership, in which he criticized Trump as "morally unfit to be president".