Obama Judge Rewards Comey’s Daughter With Backpay, Rules Trump Firing Unlawful
An Obama-appointed federal judge just handed Maurene Comey a legal win that limits the president’s power to clean house at the Justice Department. Southern District of New York Judge Jesse M. Furman ruled Monday that the July 2025 firing of the longtime SDNY prosecutor was unlawful.
He ordered retroactive reinstatement and backpay from the day she was terminated through December 20, 2025, plus corrections to her personnel file and benefits records. Comey does not have to go back to work.
Comey spent nearly a decade as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Manhattan. She handled some of the office’s highest-profile matters, including cases tied to Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Sean “Diddy” Combs. Supervisors and peers gave her strong marks. Then, the day after she was assigned another major case, Washington sent her an email. It terminated her effective immediately. The only reason given was Article II of the Constitution and the president’s executive power. No performance problems were listed. No for-cause finding under the Civil Service Reform Act. Just the raw assertion of presidential removal authority.
Comey sued, arguing the firing violated separation of powers, the Administrative Procedure Act, and her due process rights. She claimed it was driven by her last name—she is the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey—or by perceived political views. Furman, appointed by Barack Obama, agreed on the core claims. He held that Congress can limit removal of inferior officers like Assistant U.S. Attorneys when they report to a principal officer the president can fire at will. Relying solely on Article II to bypass the CSRA’s “for such cause as will promote the efficiency of the service” standard and its procedural protections was invalid. The court granted judgment for Comey on those counts and declared the termination unlawful. It reserved the exact backpay amount and fee questions for later.
This is not a full reinstatement fight. Comey had already moved on to other work and only sought relief through late 2025 to make her whole for that stretch. Still, the ruling hands her money, cleans her record, and rejects the administration’s view that the president’s executive power alone can end an AUSA’s tenure without regard to the statutes Congress wrote. Furman warned against returning to a pure spoils system that Congress has tried to curb for generations.