The former United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey has been charged with lying to Congress.He’s the first former senior government official to face charges tied to one of President Donald Trump’s biggest complaints: The investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.The Justice Department says Comey could face up to five years in prison if he’s found guilty.Here is what we know:Who is James Comey?James Comey was director of the FBI from 2013 to 2017, serving under President Barack Obama.In 2017, after he became president, Donald Trump fired him while he was leading an investigation into whether Trump or his campaign had worked with Russia to influence the outcome of the 2016 election, which Trump, the Republican candidate, won against Democrat Hillary Clinton.After Comey was dismissed, Special Counsel Robert Mueller took over the Russia investigation.The investigation lasted nearly two years and found that Russia had made major efforts to sway the 2016 election. Ultimately, it did not prove there was any criminal conspiracy involving Trump or his team, but the case hung over Trump for years, and he condemned it as a “witch-hunt”.Donald Trump (top) speaks at a campaign event in Washington, DC, as Hillary Clinton listens during a town hall debate in Washington, DC, on October 26, 2016 [File: Carlo Allegri/Shannon Stapleton/Reuters]What are the charges against Comey?The case against Comey is not about the details of the Russia investigation. It focuses only on whether he lied to senators during his 2020 testimony about the investigation to the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020.At a September 30 hearing, Republican Senator Ted Cruz asked whether he had ever authorised anyone at the FBI to leak information to the press about investigations into Hillary Clinton’s emails and possible links between the Trump campaign and Russia.Comey said he had never allowed anyone at the bureau to act as an anonymous source in news reports. That statement conflicted, however, with testimony from former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who said Comey had, in fact, given such approval.