Maurene Comey, James Comey’s daughter, was unlawfully fired, judge rules

Updated on: October 26, 2026 / 12:55 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — A federal judge on Monday found that the Justice Department unlawfully fired Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, from her post as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York.

U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman said in a 55-page decision that Comey's removal violated the constitutional separation of powers and federal law. The judge retroactively reinstated Comey to her role as a federal prosecutor and ordered the Trump administration to provide her back pay from the date of her firing in July 2025 through Dec. 20, when she accepted a different job.

Comey's lawsuit was one of several filed by former government employees who were fired without cause that tested the limits of the president's power to fire federal officials.

The Trump administration had argued that Article II of the Constitution gives the president unrestricted removal power, and said Congress could not limit the removal of federal prosecutors.

But in his decision, Furman ruled that Comey's firing violated the Civil Service Reform Act, a landmark law enacted in 1978 that provides protections for federal workers. The Trump administration, he wrote…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/world/