A federal judge ruled Monday that the Justice Department unlawfully fired Maurene Comey, the former Manhattan federal prosecutor and daughter of ex-FBI Director James Comey, and ordered her retroactively reinstated with back pay. U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman rejected the administration's argument that the attorney general could remove a career federal prosecutor at will and without cause, finding the termination violated both federal law and the Constitution's separation of powers.
Comey was fired from her job as an assistant U.S. attorney in New York in July 2025, according to CNBC. She had served as a federal prosecutor in Manhattan since 2015, per CBS News, a tenure that included work on the prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. She sued the Justice Department and others after her dismissal, as detailed by ClickOnDetroit | WDIV Local 4, which carried the Associated Press report on the case by reporters Michael R. Sisak and Larry Neumeister.
Judge Rejects DOJ's At-Will Firing Argument
Furman found that Comey's removal violated the constitutional separation of powers and federal law, according to the same CBS News account. He specifically ruled that the firing violated the Civil Service Reform Act, the outlet reported. The judge rejected the government's claim that federal prosecutors exercise the president's conclusive and preclusive powers, and he wrote that the court concludes the defendants are wrong.
The Justice Department had argued that Attorney General Pam Bondi could remove a federal prosecutor at will and without cause, and separately that current Attorney General Todd Blanche could ratify that firing after the fact — arguments CNBC reported Furman rejected on both counts. Furman also said the government's claim that Congress is barred from regulating the removal of federal prosecutors conflicts with nearly two centuries of Supreme Court precedent, and warned that accepting the administration's argument would unsettle the equilibrium established by the nation's constitutional system.
A Case Watched as a Test of Prosecutorial Independence
The case was seen as a test of whether the Trump administration can swiftly fire line prosecutors like Comey who are not politically appointed, according to U.S. News & World Report. The Justice Department had pointed to a recent Supreme Court decision expanding presidential control over federal agencies, arguing it also applied to more junior employees such as Comey — though that ruling left open the question of the president's ability to terminate so-called inferior officers, per Politico.
Comey alleged that she was fired because she was James Comey's daughter or because of her perceived political affiliation and beliefs, according to Judge Furman's findings as reported by CBS News. CBS News noted that President Donald Trump dislikes James Comey. The Justice Department's own court filings said Comey received an outstanding rating on her performance reviews from 2019 through 2024, and Furman wrote that she received the highest accolades from supervisors and peers alike.
Furman's order calls for Comey to be retroactively reinstated to her job as an assistant United States attorney, with back pay, CNBC reported. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment, according to the AP report carried by ClickOnDetroit | WDIV Local 4.
