Judge Furman orders DOJ to pay Maurene Comey $157,000 after finding termination flawed

Federal judges have long debated the limits of presidential power, but a recent ruling in Manhattan narrowed that scope for career prosecutors. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman determined that the Department of Justice fired Maurene Comey without legal cause. The decision requires the DOJ to pay the former assistant U.S. attorney $157,000 in back pay and grants her retroactive reinstatement.

The court ordered the department to compensate Comey for the period between her termination on July 16, 2025, and December 20, 2025. Furman inferred that Comey accepted a new position on that later date. The ruling rejects the department's claim that the attorney general possesses unlimited authority to dismiss federal prosecutors at will. Instead, the judge applied the Civil Service Reform Act, which mandates specific procedural steps before a career employee can be removed.

The DOJ failed to provide Comey with the required advance written notice, a reasonable time to respond, or a written decision with specific reasons for the firing. Furman noted that the department conceded it did not afford Comey these procedural protections. The judge described the DOJ’s argument that the firing was a valid exercise of executive power as bordering on frivolous. He stated that accepting such an argument would unsettle the constitutional equilibrium of checks and balances.

Comey served in the Southern District of New York and worked on high-profile cases involving Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Sean Combs before her dismissal. Her lawsuit argued that her firing stemmed from President Donald Trump’s animosity toward her father, former FBI Director James Comey. The judge highlighted that Maurene Comey received excellent performance reviews from supervisors and peers before her departure. One supervisor described her as a brilliant lawyer and a gifted supervisor with courtroom advocacy among the finest in the country.

The DOJ stated it disagrees with the decision and intends to appeal in due course. The White House referred media to a post from the DOJ’s Rapid Response account on X, which claimed the ruling obstructs the president’s constitutional authority. The judge has reserved judgment on Comey’s First Amendment claim. She must file arguments by November 9 explaining why that claim should not be dismissed as moot given the favorable ruling on other grounds.

James Comey currently faces a federal indictment accusing him of threatening the president’s life via an Instagram post. His attorneys are seeking to have that case dismissed. Maurene Comey’s lawyers called the ruling a hard-earned victory for civil servants and the rule of law. They noted that the decision reaffirms that the president is not above the law in the management of the executive branch.