Judge orders DOJ to restore fired prosecutor

U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman ordered the Justice Department to reinstate Maurene Comey on Monday. The ruling also mandates back pay from her firing date through December 20, 2025, when she started a new job. That period covers the time she was out of work following her abrupt removal in July 2025.

Furman found the firing violated the Constitution’s separation of powers and Comey’s Fifth Amendment rights to due process. He rejected the Trump administration’s claim that career prosecutors can be fired at will. According to the judge, that assertion would unsettle the constitutional equilibrium established by the nation’s system.

Comey served for nearly 10 years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York. She worked on high-profile cases involving Sean Combs, former Senator Bob Menendez, and Jeffrey Epstein. Her attorneys noted that the decision reaffirms checks and balances, stating the President is not above the law.

In a court filing, the Justice Department said the firing came at the direction of Attorney General Pam Bondi. Comey said her boss only informed her the decision came from Washington. Furman determined Bondi failed to follow legal limits on removal power. The judge noted Congress granted the Attorney General removal authority but also imposed specific restrictions that the Department conceded were violated.

The Department argued in court that Bondi had the power to fire Comey for no reason and that Congress could not limit that authority. Furman called this a sweeping theory of executive authority that defies nearly two centuries of Supreme Court precedent. He observed that the administration has used this new theory to remove other federal employees who held protections from removal.

The Justice Department spokesperson stated the agency disagrees with the decision and will appeal in due course. Meanwhile, the administration continues a federal criminal case against Comey’s father, James, over a photo of seashells. That case is delayed until early 2027 while a judge weighs whether to dismiss it.

Furman’s ruling serves to clarify legal issues involved in executive removal powers. The judge noted the administration invented an expansive theory of power and utilized it to remove long-protected Executive Branch employees.