A federal judge in New York has issued a landmark ruling finding that the U.S. Department of Justice unlawfully terminated Maurene Comey, a seasoned federal prosecutor and daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, in July 2025. The ruling, handed down by U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman on a Monday, mandates that the Trump administration restore Comey to her prior post and award her full back pay covering the period between her July 2025 dismissal and December 2025, when she secured alternative employment.
Maurene Comey, who built a reputation as a top-tier legal talent handling some of the nation’s most high-stakes criminal cases, filed a civil suit against the federal government shortly after her ouster. She alleged that her firing was entirely motivated by her familial ties to James Comey – a prominent public critic of President Donald Trump – as well as baseless assumptions about her personal political leanings. At the time of her dismissal, Comey was only told the order originated from senior leadership in Washington, with no formal performance-related justification provided.
Court records confirm that over the course of her prosecutorial career, Comey earned consistent top-tier performance reviews from both supervisors and colleagues, and led high-profile prosecutions including those against deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, and hip-hop figure Sean “Diddy” Combs, who was convicted on prostitution-related charges involving two former partners in 2024.
In his 62-page written ruling, Judge Furman emphasized that while the U.S. Attorney General holds the authority to remove federal prosecutors, that power is not unlimited: dismissals must follow established procedural protocols and be rooted in legitimate, non-partisan justifications. He concluded that Comey’s termination violated both due process protections enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and established federal civil service rules governing career public servants.
The Department of Justice released an official statement in response to the ruling, noting that agency leadership strongly disagrees with the judge’s findings and intends to file a formal appeal within the legally permitted timeline. Court filings from the DOJ previously claimed that the decision to fire Comey was made directly by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi, with no connection to her family background.
Legal representatives for Maurene Comey framed the ruling as a far-reaching victory for all non-partisan civil servants. In their public statement, they noted: “This hard-earned victory belongs to Ms Comey, to all civil servants, and to all fighting for the rule of law. It reaffirms that career public servants cannot be removed from their posts solely for their family connections or perceived political beliefs.”
The ruling unfolds against a broader backdrop of ongoing legal tensions between the Trump administration and James Comey, whose 2017 firing as FBI director sparked widespread controversy during Trump’s first presidential term. The Trump administration has twice pursued criminal charges against the former FBI director: the first, alleging James Comey lied to Congress, was dismissed by a separate judge who found the prosecuting official bringing the case had been unlawfully appointed. Earlier in 2025, the DOJ filed new charges against James Comey alleging he made a violent threat against President Trump via an Instagram post that showed seashells arranged to spell “86 47” – a reference prosecutors claim uses the slang term “86,” meaning to remove or eliminate someone, to incite harm against the 47th U.S. president. James Comey has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing in the matter.