Former New York prosecutor Maurene Comey sues over firing by Justice Department
Maurene Comey, a former federal prosecutor who handled cases against sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, sued the Justice Department on Monday for firing her allegedly because her father is disliked by President Donald Trump.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, alleges that the Justice Department offered no rationale for Comey’s firing and that it was an illegal and political move. Comey’s father is James B. Comey, a former FBI director whom Trump has long criticized.
“Defendants have not provided any explanation whatsoever for terminating Ms. Comey. … Rather, Defendants fired Ms. Comey solely or substantially because her father is former FBI Director James B. Comey, or because of her perceived political affiliation and beliefs, or both,” the lawsuit says.
The Justice Department on Monday declined to comment on Comey’s lawsuit.
The Trump administration in May said it was investigating James Comey for posting a photo that Trump said was meant to be a threat against him - which Comey denied. Trump has publicly lambasted Comey since 2016 for his handling of the probe into Hillary Clinton’s emails and other aspects of his work. Trump fired him in 2017.
Maurene Comey was fired July 16, shortly after the conclusion of Combs’s trial in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. The lawsuit says that she was not provided a reason for her termination and that when she asked why she was fired, Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, said: “All I can say is it came from Washington. I can’t tell you anything else.” Clayton at the time was serving in an interim capacity.
“The politically motivated termination of Ms. Comey … upends bedrock principles of our democracy and justice system,” wrote Comey’s lawyers Nicole Gueron, Ellen Blain, Deepa Vanamali and Margaret Donovan.
The lawsuit seeks Comey’s reinstatement and judicial findings that the basis the Justice Department used to remove Comey was illegal and violated her rights. Comey is also requesting that she receive back pay and that the government cover her legal costs.
During her career, Comey helped obtain hundreds of criminal convictions and worked on dozens of complex cases while receiving promotions and commendations, according to the lawsuit.
Comey’s colleagues at the U.S. attorney’s office, where she was respected and well-liked, accompanied her out of the building in a show of support. During her career at the U.S. attorney’s office, she supervised multiple units and also tried several prominent cases. She earned praise from her supervisors and from the Justice Department for her work, according to the lawsuit.
Comey was a lead prosecutor in the case against Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of sex trafficking of a minor, conspiracy and transportation of a minor for illegal sexual activity in December 2021. Comey also handled the case against Epstein, whose indictment on sex-trafficking charges was unsealed in July 2019. Authorities ruled Epstein’s death the following month while in custody a suicide.
Comey oversaw the bribery prosecution of former U.S. senator Bob Menendez, who was convicted in 2024 and is serving an 11-year prison sentence for accepting cash and gold bars in what the prosecutor’s office called one of the most brazen public corruption schemes in the country’s history.
Comey was recently lead attorney on the prosecution team handling Combs’s two-month sex-trafficking trial. The Bad Boy Records founder and hip-hop entrepreneur was acquitted on the top counts he faced but convicted of transportation to engage in prostitution. He faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced in October.
Comey’s lawyers argued in the filing that as a civil servant she had legal protections and that her long history of service in the U.S. attorney’s office resulted in glowing performance reviews. She was called “outstanding” in an internal review as recently as three months before she was dismissed.
The lawyers noted in court papers that her work throughout her career was vetted by bosses in her office and in Washington when protocols required it. Her attorneys declined to comment outside of the court filings.
Her former colleague Michael Ferrara, who is now in private practice, said in a statement that Comey was an “outstanding” assistant U.S. attorney.
“Everyone at the Southern District knew as much, which is why she was regularly assigned the most difficult, complex cases that office prosecuted,” Ferrara said. “Her unceremonious firing is a loss for the [Justice Department].”
Jeremy Roebuck in Washington contributed to this report.
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