US judge rules Maurene Comey’s dismissal unlawful
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Businessday
A US judge has declared the dismissal of Maurene Comey, a former federal prosecutor removed by Donald Trump’s administration in July 2025, unlawful. The ruling says her dismissal may have violated protections for public servants against political retaliation, according to Businessday.
US federal judge Jesse Furman ruled on Monday, 26 October, that the dismissal of Maurene Comey, a former federal prosecutor in Manhattan, by the administration of Donald Trump was unlawful. He ordered her reinstatement retroactive to December 2025, making her eligible for back pay and retirement benefits, Reuters reports.
Maurene Comey, daughter of former FBI director James Comey, was dismissed by the Department of Justice in July 2025. She argued that her dismissal was linked to her father and violated federal rules protecting public servants from politically motivated dismissals. Among other cases, she prosecuted those involving Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of Jeffrey Epstein, and music producer Sean « Diddy » Combs.
The Department of Justice defended the president’s or attorney general’s power to dismiss prosecutors vested with executive authority without cause. Judge Furman, appointed by former Democratic president Barack Obama, rejected this argument, citing the limits Congress can impose on executive power. Another claim by Comey remains pending; the department has said it will appeal, but the judge has not yet ruled on that claim.
