Judge Orders Back Pay, Cites Limits On Removal Power

Maurene Comey, an assistant US attorney for the Department of Justice since 2015, was illegally fired from her Manhattan post on July 16, 2025, a federal judge ruled on Monday. US District Judge Jesse Furman ordered the government to pay her back pay from the date of her firing through December and granted her retroactive reinstatement for that period.

Furman rejected the administration's position that the president may dismiss inferior officers regardless of protections Congress enacted. He wrote that accepting the defense's argument would upset the constitutional balance and rejected the claim that prosecutors like Comey fall under the president's conclusive and preclusive powers. "Defendants invented a new and expansive theory of executive power," Furman wrote. "They have also utilised that theory to remove other Executive Branch employees who have long held protections from removal."

Comey's legal team argued that her position was terminated because of Trump's antipathy toward her father, James Comey, who led the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 2013 to 2017 and was fired during Trump's first term. Her lawsuit alleged that the firing violated federal laws prohibiting the termination of civil servants for political reasons. She pointed to the separation of powers under the US Constitution, which allows Congress to regulate federal employees so long as it does not interfere with the president's authority.

The Department of Justice countered that the president holds wide latitude to fire federal employees without cause. In response to Monday's ruling, the administration said it disagrees with the decision and will appeal in due course. The ruling is a setback for an administration that has sought to remove federal employees seen as out of step with the president's priorities.

Comey served as an assistant US attorney in Manhattan and brought cases against Jeffrey Epstein, his associate Ghislaine Maxwell and music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs. Since returning to office for a second term, Trump has sought to reduce the size of the federal government and remove prosecutors and investigators involved in cases he disagrees with. He has also pushed the Justice Department to prosecute several of his critics, including James Comey.

In a social media post on September 20, 2025, Trump called on then-Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue charges against James Comey and several others. "There is a GREAT CASE, and many lawyers, and legal pundits, say so," Trump wrote. "We can't delay any longer, it's killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!"

Shortly after the post, the Department of Justice charged James Comey with lying to Congress. A judge dismissed the case in November after finding that prosecutor Lindsey Halligan had been unlawfully appointed. In April, James Comey was charged again in a separate case accusing him of threatening Trump by sharing an image of seashells on social media.