A federal judge ruled Monday that the Justice Department unlawfully fired Maurene Comey, the former Manhattan prosecutor and daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, rejecting the Trump administration’s defense of her dismissal.
U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman granted Comey retroactive reinstatement and back pay covering the period from her termination through December 20, 2025, according to Mediaite. The relief covers that past period of employment; it does not establish that she is returning to work as a federal prosecutor today.
ABC News reported that Furman found her termination violated civil service rules. The decision delivers a setback to the administration in a dispute over its authority to dismiss career federal prosecutors.
Judge Rejects Administration’s Defense
The Justice Department defended Comey’s removal under Article II of the Constitution, which establishes the president’s executive authority.
Furman rejected that argument. As quoted by Mediaite, he warned that accepting the government’s position would “unsettle the very equilibrium established by this Nation’s constitutional system.”
The dispute centers on the legal protections afforded career government employees and whether the administration could rely on presidential authority to bypass those protections when removing Comey.
Furman had already allowed her lawsuit to proceed in an April ruling, rejecting the government’s argument that she had to pursue her challenge through the federal Merit Systems Protection Board. He concluded that the administration’s reliance on Article II placed her challenge outside the administrative review process the government said should apply.
Nearly a Decade in the Manhattan Prosecutor’s Office
Comey served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York for nearly ten years. Her work included the prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, according to Mediaite.
She was fired on July 16, 2025, according to Furman’s earlier opinion. That court record establishes a July dismissal date, rather than the August date cited in Mediaite’s account.
The April opinion described Comey as a highly regarded prosecutor who had received strong evaluations. It also noted that she was assigned another prominent case just one day before officials in Washington notified her by email that her employment was ending immediately. The stated basis was Article II.
In her lawsuit, Comey alleged that she was dismissed because of her relationship with her father, her perceived political affiliation and beliefs, or both. Those allegations formed part of her challenge to the firing.
After her dismissal, Comey urged former colleagues to resist letting the episode influence their work. In a farewell message obtained by Politico and quoted by Mediaite, she warned that “fear is the tool of a tyrant.”
