Judge orders reinstatement and back pay for unlawfully fired New York federal prosecutor Maurene Comey
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A Manhattan federal judge found that the Department of Justice illegally terminated assistant U.S. attorney Maurene Comey and ordered her retroactive reinstatement with back pay, underscoring the rule of law over political meddling.
A U.S. District Court judge in Manhattan ruled Monday that the Department of Justice’s termination of Maurene Comey, an assistant United States attorney in the Southern District of New York, was unlawful. Judge Jesse Furman ordered that Comey be retroactively reinstated to her position and receive back pay.
Comey, who had worked on cases involving Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Sean "Diddy" Combs, was dismissed in July 2025 and subsequently sued the DOJ. The judge rejected the department’s sweeping arguments that then-Attorney General Pam Bondi could fire a federal prosecutor "at will" and that current AG Todd Blanche could later bless the action after the fact. Furman also rejected the claim that the Civil Service Reform Act allowed an attorney general to remove a prosecutor without cause, noting that the DOJ’s position would upend longstanding Supreme Court precedent and weaken basic protections against arbitrary political retaliation.
"This Court, however, is bound to follow the Supreme Court's precedents unless and until the Supreme Court overturns them," Furman wrote.
Comey’s attorneys described the ruling as a victory for civil servants and the rule of law, emphasizing that it reinforces the constitutional system of checks and balances rather than allowing executive power to run roughshod over it. The DOJ issued a statement indicating it disagrees with the decision and will appeal after the judge issues a final judgment. The court did not rule on Comey’s claim that her First Amendment rights were violated, granting her until Nov. 9 to submit arguments on that issue.
The White House has not yet commented on the ruling.