Furman limits prosecutor removals to a particular manner and certain reasons
The US Justice Department said in court filings that former Attorney General Pam Bondi made the decision to fire Maurene Comey. Federal Judge Jesse Furman’s Monday ruling found that Comey’s July 2025 dismissal violated the US Constitution and fair legal process and ordered her reinstatement and back pay.
Furman said the US attorney general can fire federal prosecutors but only “in a particular manner and only for certain reasons.” He also cited Comey’s record, saying “she was assigned some of the country’s highest profile cases and consistently received the highest accolades from supervisors and peers alike.”
Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey, lost her job as a federal prosecutor in New York in July 2025 and sued the government. Her father was a critic of US President Donald Trump. A Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement that the agency disagreed with Furman’s decision and “will appeal in due course.”
A complaint her lawyers filed in September 2025 stated that they believed Comey had been fired “solely or substantially because her father is former FBI Director James B Comey, or because of her perceived political affiliation and beliefs, or both.” Comey had previously said the only reason she was told about her firing was that it “came from Washington.”
BBC News reported that Comey worked on cases against the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, and hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who was convicted last year on prostitution-related charges involving his two ex-girlfriends.
Separate from his daughter’s case, the Trump administration has twice brought charges against James Comey, including for allegedly lying to Congress. A judge dismissed the lying-to-Congress case, saying the prosecutor who brought it was unlawfully appointed.
Earlier this year, the Justice Department charged James Comey with knowingly and wilfully making a threat to take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm on, the president. James Comey has denied any wrongdoing. The case stems from a 2025 Instagram post shared by James Comey that contained a photo of seashells on a beach arranged to read “86 47.” “Eighty-six” is a slang term for “get rid of,” and prosecutors allege that the post encourages violence against Trump.
BBC News reported that James Comey surrendered over the charge of threatening President Trump’s life in the Instagram post.
Furman ordered Maurene Comey to receive back pay from July until December 2025, when she accepted a new job, in addition to ordering her reinstatement.
In a statement, Maurene Comey’s lawyers said: “This hard-earned victory belongs to Ms Comey, to all civil servants, and to all fighting for the rule of law”.