Judge Orders $157,000 In Back Pay To Fied Prosecutor Maurene Comey

Maurene Comey will receive $157,000 in back pay from the U.S. Department of Justice after a federal judge ruled her 2025 firing was unlawful. Judge Jesse Furman issued the decision on Monday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. The order covers wages from her termination date of July 16, 2025, through December 20, 2025. Furman inferred that Comey accepted new employment by that later date.

The ruling grants Comey retroactive reinstatement as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. This status applies for the period between her firing and the inferred acceptance of a new job. The judge found that the department failed to follow specific procedures required by the Civil Service Reform Act. Comey was not given advance written notice or a reasonable time to respond to the termination.

Furman rejected the argument that the attorney general can remove a federal prosecutor at will. The DOJ had contended that then-Attorney General Pam Bondi had this authority under Article II of the Constitution. The judge stated that this view sought to overturn nearly two centuries of Supreme Court precedent. He also dismissed the claim that current Attorney General Todd Blanche could ratify the firing after the fact.

The decision noted that Comey had received excellent performance reviews throughout her tenure. Supervisors described her as a brilliant lawyer and a gifted supervisor. The DOJ admitted in the lawsuit that the termination was not for cause and was not based on her work performance. Furman described the department's statutory defense as bordering on frivolous.

Comey had worked on high-profile prosecutions, including those involving Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Sean Combs. Her lawsuit argued that her firing stemmed from President Donald Trump's animus toward her father, former FBI Director James Comey. Trump fired her father in 2017. James Comey is currently under federal indictment, and his attorneys are seeking to have that case dismissed.

The Department of Justice said it would appeal the ruling in due course. The appeal will occur after Furman issues a final judgment. The White House pointed to a post by the DOJ's Rapid Response account on X. That post stated that the decision obstructs the president's constitutional authority to fire individuals who wield executive power.

Furman reserved judgment on Comey's claim that her firing violated her First Amendment rights. She has until November 9 to file arguments on why that claim should not be dismissed as moot. The judge based his decision on procedural failures rather than free speech violations.

Comey's lawyers said the victory belongs to all civil servants. They quoted the court's finding that accepting unlimited executive power would unsettle the constitutional system. Comey wrote a note to colleagues after her initial firing, warning that fear could seep into the decisions of those who remain if a career prosecutor can be dismissed without reason.