Maurene Comey Wins Judge Ruling Over Unlawful 2025 Firing

A federal judge in Manhattan has declared the Trump administration’s July 2025 termination of Maurene Comey, a former assistant U.S. Attorney, unlawful. The ruling, issued on Monday, 26 October 2026, not only restores Comey’s back pay and reinstates her to the post she lost, but also challenges a long‑standing narrative that a president can fire career prosecutors at will. The decision arrives amid fresh indictments against her father, former FBI director James Comey, and a broader wave of litigation over the Justice Department’s purges.

In a 55‑page opinion, Judge Jesse M. Furman found that the Department of Justice violated the separation of powers, the Administrative Procedure Act and the Fifth Amendment when it dismissed Comey in July 2025. The dismissal came after a decade in which she handled high‑profile cases, including those against Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, and earned “the highest accolades from supervisors and peers alike,” the judge wrote. Comey’s lawsuit, filed in September 2025, alleged that the firing was motivated by her status as the daughter of James Comey, a “long‑time foe” of President Donald Trump.

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The judge rejected the DOJ’s argument that federal prosecutors fall under the president’s “conclusive and preclusive” authority. He noted that Congress’s regulation of federal employee removal “flies in the face of nearly two centuries of Supreme Court precedent.” “To accept Defendants’ argument would be to unsettle the very equilibrium established by this Nation’s constitutional system,” Furman wrote.

In addition to the ruling, the judge granted Comey retroactive reinstatement and back pay from the date of her firing until 20 December, “to make her whole” and ensure she does not suffer adverse employment consequences from the unlawful termination. The decision also addressed a First Amendment claim, with the judge reserving judgment pending further arguments, though he indicated a tendency to dismiss it as moot since Comey is now in private practice.

A spokesperson at the DOJ's main headquarters said, "The Department disagrees with this decision and will appeal in due course." The DOJ’s appeal will be the next step in a series of legal challenges that have targeted the Trump administration’s sweeping firings of career prosecutors and FBI agents perceived as hostile to its agenda.

Comey’s case is part of a larger pattern. During the Trump administration, the DOJ fired scores of career employees, including prosecutors involved in investigations of the president, and the moves have sparked several federal lawsuits. The firing of Maurene Comey was particularly personal, given her father’s longtime adversarial relationship with Trump.

Meanwhile, the DOJ has unsealed a third round of charges against James Comey on Monday. The charges accuse him of illegally transmitting national defense information in a 2016 correction request to Reuters. Comey’s lawyers have dismissed the allegations as “an appalling abuse of the Department of Justice.” The indictment follows earlier cases: a 2020 suit accusing him of lying to Congress, which was dismissed after a judge found the prosecutor was illegally appointed, and a separate pending indictment accusing him of threatening Trump via an Instagram post of seashells arranged to spell “86 47.” The latter case has been met with skepticism by legal experts.

Timeline of Key Events

• May 2017 – James Comey dismissed as FBI director by President Trump.
• July 2025 – Maurene Comey terminated as assistant U.S. Attorney.
• September 2025 – Maurene Comey files lawsuit alleging unlawful firing.
• 26 October 2026 – Judge Furman rules firing unlawful, orders reinstatement and back pay.
• 26 October 2026 – DOJ unseals third round of charges against James Comey.

The DOJ’s appeal will be closely watched, as will the outcomes of James Comey’s new indictment and the broader implications for the balance of power within the federal government.