Former FBI Director James Comey could face criminal charges within days as the Department of Justice weighs whether to seek an indictment before the clock runs out on a possible perjury case tied to his 2020 congressional testimony.

Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia are preparing to ask a grand jury to indict Comey as early as this week, sources told MSNBC on Wednesday, with the statute of limitations on the alleged offense set to expire Tuesday, five years after his testimony to Congress prompted allegations by Republicans that he lied under oath.