A federal judge in the US has ruled that the firing of former prosecutor Maureen Comey by the Donald Trump administration was illegal. The decision comes in a lawsuit filed by Comey against the Justice Department after she was fired in July 2025.
Maureen Comey is the eldest daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, who has been a political opponent of Trump for years. For nearly a decade, she worked as a federal prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, and was involved in the cases against Jeffrey Epstein associate Gillian Maxwell and musician Sean Combs, known by the pseudonym "Diddy."
What Comey claims
In her lawsuit, Comey claims she was fired because of who her father is or because of her alleged political views. According to her, the dismissal violates federal laws that prohibit politically motivated dismissal of public officials and guarantee the right to due process in labor disputes.
Comey also claims that the constitutional separation of powers and her right to free speech were violated. She has asked to be reinstated as a prosecutor back to December 2025, as well as to receive her unpaid salary and retain her right to retirement benefits.
The dispute over the president's powers
The Justice Department defends the dismissal on the grounds that prosecutors exercise significant executive powers when they represent the federal government in criminal cases. The department says the president or attorney general can remove them without cause.
Judge Jesse Furman rejected that position. In his decision, he wrote: „The Court concludes that defendants are wrong.“ In his opinion, the claim that Congress has no authority to regulate the dismissal of federal prosecutors contradicts nearly two centuries of Supreme Court practice.
The case is being seen as a test of the limits of presidential power and the ability of the Trump administration to fire career prosecutors who are not political appointees and who usually remain in their posts when the ruling parties change.
After the dismissal, Maureen Comey began working as a partner in a law firm. The court's decision recognizes the illegality of the dismissal, but the consequences for her reinstatement, wages and pension rights are related to the specific claims in the case.
Sources: bta.bg, investing.com, apnews.com