Maurene Comey to Return to Post as Judge Rules DOJ Firing Violated Law

Federal courts have become a primary arena for disputes over executive authority, with recent rulings focusing on the tenure of career civil servants. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman ruled that the Justice Department unlawfully terminated Maurene Comey, the former assistant U.S. attorney and daughter of former FBI Director James Comey.

Furman ordered the department to reinstate Comey and pay back wages effective from her termination in July 2025 through December 20, 2025. The judge found that the abrupt firing violated the Constitution’s separation of powers and Comey’s Fifth Amendment due process rights. He wrote that the administration’s claim of at-will removal authority would "unsettle the very equilibrium established by this Nation’s constitutional system."

Comey served nearly 10 years in the Southern District of New York, where she worked on high-profile cases involving Sean Combs, former Sen. Bob Menendez, and Jeffrey Epstein. She filed suit in September 2025, arguing the Trump administration offered no legitimate reason for her dismissal. Her attorneys stated the firing stemmed from President Donald Trump's "well-known and longstanding vendetta" against her father, who was removed as FBI director in 2017.

The Justice Department asserted that then-Attorney General Pam Bondi had the power to remove career prosecutors without cause. Furman rejected this theory, noting that Congress imposed specific limits on the attorney general's removal power. "Congress granted the Attorney General power to remove Comey," Furman wrote, but "Congress imposed limits on that power, limits that, even Defendants concede, were violated in Comey’s case."

In a joint statement, Comey’s attorneys Ellen Blain, Nicole Gueron, Deepa Vanamali, and Margaret Donovan said the decision "reaffirms our bedrock system of checks and balances." They described the outcome as a victory for civil servants and the rule of law. A Justice Department spokesperson said the department "disagrees with this decision and will appeal in due course."

The ruling comes as the administration faces continued litigation over the removal of federal employees, particularly those involved in investigations into the president or the January 6 Capitol attack. Furman noted that the administration’s new theory of executive power has been used to remove other protected employees. The decision should "serve a useful purpose in clarifying or settling the legal issues involved," he wrote.

Separately, a federal criminal case against James Comey remains pending. The government alleges a photo of seashells sent by Comey to a friend constituted a threat. That trial has been delayed until early 2027 while a judge considers a motion to dismiss, with Comey’s team arguing the photo was not a true threat.