An Obama-appointed federal judge ruled on Monday that while Trump's attorney general and those with the delegated responsibility are "authorized by law" to fire a federal prosecutor, the way in which the daughter of disgraced ex-FBI Director James Comey was fired last year was unlawful.
Maurene Comey served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York for nearly a decade and was involved in the prosecutions of Sean "Diddy" Combs, convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, and child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.
'This decision reaffirms our bedrock system of checks and balances.'
Francey Hakes, the director of the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, notified Comey on July 16, 2025, that "pursuant to Article II of the United States Constitution and the laws of the United States," her employment with the Justice Department had been terminated.
In September 2025, Comey sued the Trump administration, alleging that her termination was "unlawful and unconstitutional" and "politically motivated" — the result of her connection to James Comey and/or "her perceived political affiliation and beliefs." According to her complaint, she was removable only for cause under the Civil Service Reform Act.
The government argued that:
- Comey was removable at-will under Article II by the attorney general "because plaintiff in her duties as an assistant United States attorney exercised the president’s conclusive and preclusive executive authority";
- "Congress has by statute explicitly authorized the attorney general to remove assistant United States attorneys"; and
- that statute "contains no restrictions on the attorney general's removal powers."
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U.S. District Court Judge Jesse Furman, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, evidently was not swayed by the government's arguments. He ruled on Monday that Comey's "removal was not authorized by any statute; to the contrary, it violated the CSRA."
While conceding that the attorney general can remove an AUSA, Furman wrote that "the attorney general (and anyone to whom the attorney general delegates that authority) is also limited by law, namely the CSRA, to do so only in a particular manner and only for certain reasons."
"The Court holds that Comey is entitled to judgment as a matter of law on her central claims that she was terminated in violation of the constitutional separation of powers and federal law," continued the Obama judge.
Furman ordered Comey's retroactive reinstatement and backpay effective from her termination in July through Dec. 20, 2025, when the ex-prosecutor apparently found a new job.
Comey's lawyers said in a joint statement, "This hard-earned victory belongs to Ms. Comey, to all civil servants, and to all fighting for the rule of law."
"As the Court correctly held, to accept the government’s argument about unlimited executive power 'would be to unsettle the very equilibrium established by this nation’s constitutional system,'" continued the lawyers. "This decision reaffirms our bedrock system of checks and balances: the president is not above the law."
The White House referred Blaze News to the following statement from the Justice Department's rapid response account: "The Department disagrees with this decision, which obstructs President Trump’s constitutional authority to fire individuals who wield executive power on his behalf. We intend to appeal the decision in due course."
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