Judge rules Maurene Comey was unlawfully fired, orders reinstatement
publishers 54articles 81first reported 30 Sep, 17:48 UTCdeveloping since 30 Sep · 32 editions
A federal judge ruled Monday that the Justice Department unlawfully fired Maurene Comey, a former Manhattan federal prosecutor and daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, and ordered that she be reinstated with back pay.
U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman found that Comey’s dismissal in July 2025 violated her due process rights. Although the attorney general has authority to remove assistant U.S. attorneys, Furman wrote that the power may be exercised only “in a particular manner and only for certain reasons.” He said the department had advanced a new and overly broad theory of executive power.
Comey worked for about a decade in the Southern District of New York, handling cases involving Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Sean “Diddy” Combs. Furman noted that she had consistently received strong evaluations from supervisors and colleagues.
Comey sued the Justice Department after her dismissal, alleging that she was targeted because her father is a prominent critic of President Donald Trump or because of her perceived political beliefs. The ruling did not resolve her First Amendment claim, which remains subject to further briefing.
The order provides back pay from her firing through December 2025, when she accepted another job, and allows her to return to the prosecutor’s office if she chooses. The Justice Department said it disagreed with the ruling and would appeal. The court’s order is not yet final.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 8 articles, 5 with the publisher's own text; 8 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 626 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
- Publishers
- 54
- Source articles
- 81
- Given to the writer
- 8, 5 with the article's own text
- Independent newsrooms
- 8
- This version written
- 626 h after the record first saw the story
- Second model (editor)
- kept as written
- Publication gate
- passed
- Human review
- none
WHAT THE EDITOR DID
The second model checked the writer's draft against the same sources and published it as written.
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