A federal judge has ordered the Justice Department to reinstate former Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey after ruling that her dismissal earlier this year was unlawful and violated her constitutional rights.
U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman issued the ruling Monday finding that Maurene Comey the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey was illegally terminated from her position in the Southern District of New York in July 2025. The judge determined the firing violated the separation of powers and Comey’s Fifth Amendment due process rights.
Judge Furman wrote that the Trump administration’s position that it can dismiss career prosecutors at will would threaten the constitutional balance of power that has long defined the American system of government. He also ordered that Comey receive back pay covering the period from her termination through December 20 2025 when she accepted a new position.
Maurene Comey filed a lawsuit in September 2025 claiming the administration offered no legitimate reason for ending her nearly decade-long career as a federal prosecutor. She alleged her firing was directly tied to President Donald Trump’s longstanding animosity toward her father whom Trump dismissed as FBI director in 2017.
The only explanation Comey said she received from her supervisor was that the order had come from Washington. The Justice Department later confirmed in court documents that then-Attorney General Pam Bondi had directed her removal.
Judge Furman concluded that while Congress granted the attorney general authority to remove prosecutors like Comey that power comes with legal constraints that were admittedly not followed in this case.
Maurene Comey had prosecuted several major cases during her tenure including those involving rap mogul Sean Combs former New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez and Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Her legal team called the ruling a vindication not just for their client but for all federal civil servants and the rule of law. Attorneys Ellen Blain Nicole Gueron Deepa Vanamali and Margaret Donovan said the decision reinforces that no president stands above the law.
The Justice Department pushed back on the ruling saying it disagrees with the decision and plans to appeal.
The ruling comes amid a broader pattern of the Trump administration dismissing career federal prosecutors and FBI personnel particularly those connected to investigations involving Trump or the January 6 Capitol attack. Meanwhile a separate criminal case against James Comey himself stemming from a social media photo of seashells has been delayed until at least early 2027 while a judge considers whether to dismiss it.