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.

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.

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.

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.

"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."