Judge rules DOJ unlawfully fired Epstein prosecutor Maurene Comey, testing Trump administration’s removal powers

Judge finds firing unlawful

Judge Furman ruled that Comey’s dismissal violated the Civil Service Reform Act, a 1978 law that provides protections for federal employees. He said the Trump administration was seeking to “upend” established legal precedent allowing Congress to regulate the removal of certain federal officers.

Furman also found the court could hear the case because the firing was based on Article II of the Constitution, rather than a federal civil-service law. Comey’s lawsuit was among several brought by former government employees dismissed without cause, testing the boundaries of presidential power.

Comey’s work in Manhattan

Comey had been a federal prosecutor in Manhattan since 2015. Her cases included matters involving Sean “Diddy” Combs, Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and former Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez. In a letter to former colleagues after her dismissal, Comey said Justice Department headquarters had fired her by memo and had not provided a reason.

Administration’s account challenged

It was initially unclear who had decided to remove Comey. In May, the Trump administration said then-Attorney General Pam Bondi had directed the dismissal and her successor, Todd Blanche, had ratified it. Comey’s attorneys argued in their complaint that the termination was unlawful and unconstitutional because it happened without cause, advance notice or an opportunity to contest it.

Administration cited Supreme Court ruling

In defending the firing, the Trump administration partly relied on a Supreme Court decision from June. That ruling allowed the president to dismiss members of certain independent agencies without cause. The high court’s decision overturned a ruling more than 90 years old that had permitted Congress to limit the president’s ability to remove officials from multimember agencies at will.