Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted on two of three counts sought by prosecutors -- one count of making false statements and one count of obstruction of justice -- just days after President Donald Trump issued a public demand for his Justice Department to act "now" to bring prosecutions against Comey and other political foes, according to sources.
The charges follow Trump's ousting of the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, who according to sources had expressed doubts internally about bringing cases against Comey, as well as New York Attorney General Letitia James, after Trump appointed him to lead the office.
Trump then immediately moved to install Lindsey Halligan, a White House aide and his former defense attorney, to lead the office, despite her having no prior prosecutorial experience.
Earlier this week, federal prosecutors in Virginia informed Halligan that they could not establish probable cause to charge Comey, ABC News first reported. Despite the lack of clear evidence and ethical concerns about bringing a case without clear probable cause, Halligan sought an indictment from the grand jury.
In a series of social media posts over the weekend, Trump said Halligan was being appointed to the office to "get things moving," after attacking Siebert for his resistance to bring what Trump described as a "GREAT CASE."
"Pam Bondi is doing a GREAT job as Attorney General of the United States. She is very careful, very smart, loves our Country, but needs a tough prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia, like my recommendation, Lindsey Halligan, to get things moving," Trump said.
The charges against Comey are the most dramatic escalation yet in what critics have described as a campaign of retribution by Trump to use the powers of the federal government to enact revenge against those he believes have wronged him.
Comey, who was fired by Trump during Trump's first term over the investigation into Trump's 2016 campaign and its ties to Russia, has been a vocal critic of what he says are Trump's efforts to politicize the justice system.
That argument is now likely to be central to Comey's defense in his criminal case, which could prove to be a highly consequential test for both the Justice Department and the federal judiciary.