Trump administration illegally fired James Comey's daughter, judge rules

A federal judge ruled on Monday that the Justice Department unlawfully fired Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, from her position as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York. U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman deemed Comey's removal a violation of the constitutional separation of powers and federal law, subsequently reinstating her to her former role as a federal prosecutor and ordering the Trump administration to pay her backpay from the date of her firing in July 2025 until December 20, when she accepted a new position.

This lawsuit was among several brought by former government employees who were let go by President Trump without justification, examining the extent of the president's authority to dismiss federal officials. The Trump administration contended that Article II of the Constitution grants the president unrestricted removal power and insisted that Congress could not restrict the removal of federal prosecutors.

However, Judge Furman found that Comey's dismissal contravened the Civil Service Reform Act, a key law enacted in 1978 that safeguards federal workers. According to the judge, if the administration's argument were accepted, it would undermine the well-established legal precedent permitting Congress to regulate the removal of certain federal employees.

Comey had been employed as a federal prosecutor in Manhattan since 2015, managing high-profile criminal cases involving prominent figures such as Sean "Diddy" Combs, Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and former Democratic Senator Robert Menendez. In a letter to her former colleagues upon her dismissal, Comey stated she was summarily fired by the Justice Department's headquarters in Washington without explanation.

In September, Comey filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department, alleging her termination was due to President Trump's dislike for her father, who has been indicted twice during the second Trump administration. The Trump administration sought to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that Comey must first seek redress through the Merit Systems Protection Board, the agency responsible for handling appeals from federal employees regarding adverse actions.

However, Judge Furman rejected the government's motion and allowed the case to proceed, noting that Comey's firing was based on Article II of the Constitution, not a federal law governing the civil service, thus granting federal jurisdiction over the case. The Justice Department acknowledged that Comey had consistently received "outstanding" ratings on her performance reviews from 2019 through 2024 but asserted that her dismissal was carried out within the proper legal authority of then-Attorney General Pam Bondi.