What to know about James Comey's indictment and what happens next

The news puts the ex-FBI boss back in the spotlight nearly a decade after the drama of the 2016 election.

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The news puts the former FBI boss back in the spotlight nearly a decade after playing a key part in the drama of the 2016 election campaign.

After a childhood in New York and New Jersey, the young lawyer worked for various federal prosecutors including Rudy Giuliani in the high-profile Southern District of New York in the late 1980s.

He later made waves as lead prosecutor against celebrity homemaker Martha Stewart, jailed for lying about financial misconduct in 2004.

He scaled the echelons of the justice department, but left for the private sector before President Barack Obama appointed him to run the FBI in 2013.