Trump administration unlawfully fired prosecutor Maurene Comey, judge rules

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - NEW YORK — A Manhattan judge on Monday ruled that the abrupt firing of Maurene Comey, a former federal prosecutor and the daughter of one of Donald Trump’s best-known critics, last year was unlawful.

In a 55-page ruling, Judge Jesse M. Furman of Federal District Court in Manhattan wrote that the Justice Department violated the separation of powers, federal administrative law and Comey’s due process rights when it fired her in July 2025.

At the time of her firing, Comey was a highly regarded trial lawyer for the US Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, handling the prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Sean Combs.

Her dismissal came a few months after the ​Republican president began his second term in office.

In a lawsuit against the administration, she alleged that she was fired because of who her father was, ​in violation of federal laws prohibiting firing civil servants for political reasons and guaranteeing federal employees due process in employment disputes.

The ⁠case was seen as a test of whether the administration can swiftly fire career prosecutors like Comey who were not politically appointed and whose careers tend ​to span both Republican and Democratic presidential administrations.

"This decision reaffirms our bedrock system of checks and balances," Comey's lawyers said in a statement.

In court papers, the ​Justice Department argued that prosecutors like Comey are subject to removal without cause by the president or the attorney general because they are delegated a high degree of executive authority when they represent the federal government in court in criminal cases.

In siding with Comey, US District Judge Jesse Furman said centuries of legal precedent affirmed the authority of Congress to place limits ​on the executive branch's ability to remove so-called "inferior officers."

"To accept defendants' argument would be to unsettle the very equilibrium established by this nation's constitutional system," wrote ​Furman, who is based in Manhattan and was appointed by Democratic former President Barack Obama.

The judge granted her request to retroactively reinstate her as a prosecutor through December 2025 so ‌she could get ⁠back pay and qualify for retirement benefits.

In a statement, a Justice Department spokesperson said, "The department disagrees with this decision and will appeal in due course."

Furman has not yet ruled on one of Comey's claims, meaning the department cannot yet appeal.

During his second term, Trump has sought to expand his authority over federal government entities that have historically experienced varying degrees of independence from the White House, including the Justice Department. His critics accuse him of using criminal prosecutions to punish political foes, ​including James Comey, and reward allies.