Judge says Trump Justice Department unlawfully ousted prosecutor Maurene Comey in politicized firing
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A Manhattan federal judge ruled that the Trump Justice Department illegally terminated Maurene Comey, blasting the move as an abuse of executive power and ordering back pay with the option of reinstatement.
A U.S. District Judge in Manhattan ruled Monday that the Trump Justice Department illegally fired former federal prosecutor Maurene Comey, exposing yet another example of what critics see as the administration’s willingness to bend government power to political ends. The judge said the department "invented a new and expansive theory of executive power" in dismissing her, violating her constitutional right to due process.
Comey, who served for about ten years in the Southern District of New York and worked on cases involving Sean "Diddy" Combs, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, was terminated in July 2025 despite receiving departmental accolades. She sued, alleging the dismissal was retaliation for her father, former FBI Director James Comey, being a vocal critic of President Trump.
The ruling orders the Justice Department to provide back pay dating to her termination and allows her to return to her prosecutorial role if she chooses, a limited but important rebuke to the department’s conduct. The department said it disagrees with the decision and will appeal.
"To accept Defendants' argument would be to unsettle the very equilibrium established by this Nation's constitutional system," the judge wrote.
"This hard-earned victory belongs to Ms. Comey, to all civil servants, and to all fighting for the rule of law," her attorneys said in a statement.
The opinion adds to growing alarm over politically motivated dismissals at the Justice Department, with several other federal prosecutors and former FBI agents having filed similar lawsuits. The judge has not yet ruled on Comey's First Amendment claim that she was fired for protected speech and will consider further briefs on that issue.