Comey was fired in July 2025 after a decade as a federal prosecutor in New York. Judge Jesse Furman rejected the government’s defence of her removal and ordered back pay.
US federal judge Jesse Furman ruled on October 26 that prosecutor Maurene Comey was unlawfully fired and granted her retroactive reinstatement and back pay, The Guardian reported.
Comey was dismissed in July 2025 after serving for a decade as an assistant US attorney in New York. She sued the US Justice Department and others to challenge the dismissal. Furman said she had consistently received “the highest accolades from supervisors and peers alike”.
The government argued that federal prosecutors exercise the president’s “conclusive and preclusive” powers, meaning Congress cannot regulate their removal. Furman rejected that position, saying it “flies in the face of nearly two centuries of Supreme Court precedent” — the court’s earlier decisions.
Furman said accepting the government’s argument would upset the balance established by the US constitutional system. His reasoning concerned limits on presidential removal power; Comey separately alleged that her firing was political retaliation.
Comey alleged that she was dismissed because she is the daughter of former FBI director James Comey, a longtime adversary of Donald Trump, or because of her perceived political affiliation and beliefs.
The order grants reinstatement retroactively — restoring her employment status for the covered period — and back pay from her dismissal through December 20. Furman said the remedy would “make her whole” and prevent adverse employment consequences from the unlawful dismissal. The reason for the December 20 cutoff is unclear.
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