Judge Rules Maurene Comey Firing Unlawful and Orders Reinstatement

A US judge ruled on Monday that the Trump administration acted unlawfully when it abruptly fired federal prosecutor Maurene Comey, and ordered that she be retroactively reinstated to her job as an assistant United States attorney in the Southern District of New York.

US District Judge Jesse Furman issued the 55 page ruling in Comey v. US Department of Justice, No. 1:25-cv-07625. He found violations of the separation of powers, the Administrative Procedure Act, and Comey's Fifth Amendment due process and statutory rights, Reuters and CNBC reported.

What the judge found

Furman wrote that Comey's removal was not authorized by any statute and violated the Civil Service Reform Act. He said the attorney general is authorized by law to remove an assistant United States attorney, but only in a particular manner and only for certain reasons set by that law, and that Comey's removal did not follow those limits.

The judge found the administration conceded Comey's outstanding performance and admitted it failed to follow civil service protections: advance written notice, an opportunity to respond, and a written explanation of the reasons. None were provided.

Furman rejected the argument that the attorney general could remove a prosecutor at will and without cause, and rejected the claim that a firing by the attorney general was itself an implicit finding of cause to promote the efficiency of the service. He called that claim one that borders on frivolous. He also rejected a May 2026 ratification memorandum by then Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, concluding Blanche could not retroactively make the firing legal.

The firing and the lawsuit

Comey received notice on July 16, 2025 that she was being removed from federal service effective immediately, after nearly a decade as an assistant United States attorney in Manhattan. She is the eldest daughter of former FBI director James Comey, a longtime adversary of Donald Trump, and brought cases against Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of Jeffrey Epstein, and music mogul Sean Diddy Combs.

In her September 2025 lawsuit, Comey alleged she was fired because of who her father was, in violation of laws that prohibit firing civil servants for political reasons and guarantee due process. According to the complaint as cited in the ruling, then interim Manhattan United States Attorney Jay Clayton told her: "All I can say is it came from Washington. I can't tell you anything else."

The case was seen as a test of whether the administration can swiftly fire line prosecutors who are not politically appointed. The Justice Department argued prosecutors like Comey are subject to removal without cause because they are delegated a high degree of executive authority.

What reinstatement means here

The ruling grants back pay from July 16 through December 20, 2025, when the court inferred she had accepted another job. It also restores pension rights, retirement contributions and service credit, and orders her records corrected so her departure reads as a resignation, not a termination.

She is not ordered back on an ongoing basis. In February 2026 she was hired as a partner at Patterson Belknap Webb and Tyler, and in her lawsuit she had asked for retroactive reinstatement through December 2025 to receive back pay and qualify for retirement benefits.

The precise back pay amount and any attorneys fees remain unresolved. Furman reserved judgment on her First Amendment retaliation claim and directed Comey to submit additional briefing by November 9.