(AFP) – A US judge ruled on Monday that the firing of former federal prosecutor Maurene Comey, the daughter of Donald Trump foe James Comey, was unlawful and she should be reinstated. Comey, whose father briefly served as FBI director during Trump’s first White House term, was summarily dismissed in July 2025 as an assistant US attorney in Manhattan.
Comey filed suit against the Department of Justice in federal court, claiming she had been dismissed “solely or substantially” because of her father’s criticism of Trump or “because of her perceived political affiliation and beliefs.” In ruling against the Department of Justice, District Judge Jesse Furman said Comey, an assistant US attorney (AUSA) in the Southern District of New York, had been deprived of her due process rights.
“Yes, the Attorney General is authorized by law to remove an AUSA,” Furman said. “But the Attorney General… is also limited by law… to do so only in a particular manner and only for certain reasons.” Comey was involved in a number of prominent cases while serving as a prosecutor in Manhattan, including those brought against music producer Sean “Diddy” Combs and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. She also prosecuted Ghislaine Maxwell, the only former Epstein associate who was criminally charged in connection with his activities. Epstein died in prison before coming to trial in what was determined to be a suicide.
Since taking office, Trump has taken a number of punitive measures against his perceived enemies, purging government officials deemed to be disloyal, targeting law firms involved in past cases against him, and pulling federal funding from universities. James Comey, an outspoken critic of Trump, was indicted in April for allegedly threatening the Republican president in an Instagram post that showed the numbers “8647” spelled out in seashells.
The Trump Justice Department has claimed that “8647” constitutes a threat to the president — “86” meaning to kill and “47” a reference to Trump being the 47th president. Comey has denied threatening the president’s life. Trump fired Comey in 2017 as the then-FBI chief was leading an investigation into whether any members of the president’s campaign had colluded with Moscow to sway the 2016 election, in which the Republican beat Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
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