The US Justice Department has again indicted former FBI Director James Comey.
On Tuesday, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced that Comey has been charged with threatening the life of US President Donald Trump.
Comey, a vocal critic of Trump, has also been charged with making interstate threats to kill the president, according to Blanch.
What do we know so far?
Earlier Tuesday, CNN reported that the indictment was linked to an Instagram post by Comey last May showing shells on a beach, numbered “86 47.” Donald Trump is the 47th US President, Republican critics say the post is a reference to killing or ousting Trump.
This would be the second time the Justice Department under Trump has indicted Comey.
Comey was convicted last September of one count of obstruction and making false statements to Congress. Comey had declared himself innocent.
The earlier charges were dropped in November after a judge ruled that the appointment of prosecutor Lindsey Halligan to the case was unlawful.
Comey was fired by Trump in 2017
Comey served as FBI director from 2013 to 2017 and is a frequent critic of Trump.
He was fired by Trump in 2017 over his handling of Hillary Clinton’s emails, but Democrats said at the time that the dismissal was connected to the FBI’s investigation of the 2016 Trump presidential campaign’s ties to Russia.
Under the second Trump administration, the Justice Department has been under pressure from the president to prosecute his political enemies. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche previously served as Trump’s personal attorney.
Edited by: Srinivas Majumdaru, Dmytro Lyubenko