After 10 years in the SDNY, Maurene Comey wins $40,000 back pay in DOJ reinstatement

A federal judge ordered the Justice Department to reinstate Maurene Comey and pay her back wages of approximately $40,000 on Monday. U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman ruled that Comey, an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York, was unlawfully terminated in July 2025. The decision grants her back pay effective from her firing date through December 20, 2025, when she started a new position.

Furman found that the Justice Department’s action violated the Constitution’s separation of powers and Comey’s Fifth Amendment due process rights. The judge wrote that the administration’s claim to fire career prosecutors at will would upset the constitutional balance established by the nation’s system. He noted that Congress granted the Attorney General the power to remove Comey but imposed specific limits on that authority. The judge stated that the department violated those limits in this case.

The Trump administration argued that then-Attorney General Pam Bondi had the authority to fire Comey without cause. The Justice Department maintained that Congress did not have the power to restrict that authority. Furman rejected these arguments, describing the department’s position as a sweeping theory of executive authority that conflicts with two centuries of Supreme Court precedent. He wrote that the defendants invented a new and expansive theory of executive power to remove employees who held long-standing protections.

Comey had served for nearly 10 years before her dismissal. She handled high-profile prosecutions in New York, including cases involving Sean Combs, former Senator Bob Menendez, and Jeffrey Epstein. In her lawsuit filed in September 2025, Comey alleged that the administration provided no legitimate explanation for her termination. She claimed the firing resulted from President Donald Trump’s longstanding conflict with her father, former FBI Director James Comey, whom Trump fired in 2017.

Comey stated that her supervisor told her the decision came from Washington. The Justice Department later filed a document saying Bondi directed the removal. Her attorneys, including Ellen Blain and Margaret Donovan, issued a joint statement praising the ruling. They said the decision reaffirms that the President is not above the law and that the victory belongs to all civil servants.

The Justice Department spokesperson said the agency disagrees with the decision and will appeal in due course. Furman noted that the administration has routinely fired career federal prosecutors and FBI employees, particularly those involved in investigations into Trump or the January 6 Capitol attack. He suggested his ruling should help clarify the legal issues involved in such removals.

James Comey remains a defendant in a federal criminal case brought by the administration. The case centers on a photo of seashells that officials contend was a threat against Trump. The trial has been delayed until at least early 2027 while a judge considers a motion to dismiss. James Comey’s legal team argues the case stems from retribution rather than good faith, noting that context and precedent show the photo was not a true threat.