Judge Orders DOJ to Restore Prosecutor Maurene Comey After Illegal Firing
WHO:
CNN - Comey’s legal team said, “This hard-earned victory belongs to Ms. Comey, to all civil servants, and to all fighting for the rule of law.”
NY Post - Maurene Comey, daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, was a federal prosecutor.
CNN - U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman ruled on Comey’s firing; Furman was appointed by President Barack Obama.
NBC News - Comey was an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York; the Justice Department said then-Attorney General Pam Bondi directed her removal.
CBS News - The Justice Department’s court filings said Comey received “outstanding” performance ratings from 2019 through 2024.
ABC News - The ruling involved President Donald Trump and the Justice Department.
WHAT:
CNN - The Justice Department acknowledged in its arguments that Comey was not fired for cause or because of her performance.
CNN - Furman wrote that accepting the DOJ’s position would “risk a return to the spoils system that Congress has sought to end since the nineteenth century.”
CNN - In an email to former colleagues after her firing, Comey urged them to let her dismissal “fuel the fire” of their work and warned, “If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain.”
NY Post - A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to reinstate Comey, ruling her firing unlawful.
CNN - Furman found the firing unconstitutional and in violation of the Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA) and the constitutional separation of powers. He ordered backpay until Comey began work as a defense lawyer.
NBC News - Furman found Comey was “unlawfully terminated,” citing violations of separation of powers, Fifth Amendment due process, and statutory rights. He ordered retroactive reinstatement and backpay through December 20, 2025.
CBS News - Furman’s 55-page decision retroactively reinstated Comey and ordered backpay through Dec. 20, when she accepted another job.
CNN - Furman did not decide Comey’s First Amendment claim and requested further briefing. Her legal team called the ruling a “hard-earned victory.”
NBC News - Comey worked on cases involving Sean “Diddy” Combs, former Sen. Bob Menendez, Jeffrey Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell.
CBS News - Comey also handled cases involving Combs, Epstein, Maxwell, and former Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez.
WHERE:
CNN - Comey worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
CBS News - Comey served as a federal prosecutor in Manhattan.
WHEN:
NBC News - The articles report that Comey was fired in July 2025 and began a new job on December 20, 2025.
NBC News - Comey filed suit in September 2025.
CBS News - Comey had served as a Manhattan federal prosecutor since 2015.
NBC News - The criminal case against James Comey over a seashells photograph was delayed until at least early 2027.
WHY:
CNN - Comey alleged she was fired in retaliation for her father, James Comey, being a vocal opponent of President Trump.
NBC News - Comey alleged the administration gave “no legitimate explanation” for her dismissal and acted because of Trump’s “well-known and longstanding vendetta” against her father.
CBS News - Comey alleged she may have been fired because Trump dislikes her father; her attorneys said she was dismissed without cause, advance notice, or an opportunity to contest it.
CNN - The Justice Department argued that the attorney general exercises the president’s powers and Congress could not restrict removal of federal prosecutors.
CBS News - The administration argued Article II grants the president unrestricted removal power and sought dismissal of the suit, claiming Comey had to appeal through the Merit Systems Protection Board.
HOW:
CBS News - Comey’s lawsuit was among several filed by former government employees fired without cause that tested the limits of the president’s power to fire federal officials.
CNN - Furman wrote that the attorney general may remove an assistant U.S. attorney but must follow the CSRA’s procedures and permitted reasons; Comey’s removal violated those limits.
NBC News - Comey said her supervisor told her the firing “came from Washington”; the Justice Department later attributed it to Bondi.
CBS News - Comey said she was “summarily fired via memo” from Justice Department headquarters and was not given a reason.
CBS News - Furman denied the government’s motion to dismiss, ruling the federal court had jurisdiction because the firing rested on Article II rather than a civil-service statute.
(UPDATED October 26, 2026 20:04 UTC)
A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration unlawfully fired Maurene Comey, ordering her retroactive reinstatement and backpay through the date she began a new job. Judge Jesse Furman found the dismissal violated civil-service protections and the separation of powers, while the Justice Department acknowledged Comey was not fired for cause or poor performance. Comey, a former Manhattan federal prosecutor, alleged she was targeted because of her father, James Comey, and her legal team called the ruling a victory for civil servants and the rule of law.
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(UPDATED October 26, 2026 17:05 UTC)
A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to retroactively reinstate Maurene Comey, ruling that her firing as a Manhattan federal prosecutor was unlawful and violated constitutional and civil-service protections. Judge Jesse Furman also ordered backpay through December 20, 2025, when Comey began a new job, and left her First Amendment claim unresolved pending further arguments. Comey alleged she was dismissed because of her father, James Comey, a vocal Trump critic; the administration argued the president had authority to remove her.