Maurene Comey, a former assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, sued the Trump administration Monday in Manhattan federal court seeking to be reinstated and a declaration that her July firing was unlawful and politically motivated.
The complaint alleges Comey was terminated without explanation “pursuant to Article II of the United States Constitution and the laws of the United States,” and that the dismissal was driven by her relationship to her father, former FBI Director James Comey, “or because of her perceived political affiliation and beliefs, or both.” The lawsuit names the Justice Department, the Executive Office of the President, the Office of Personnel Management, the United States and, among others, Pamela Bondi as defendants.
According to the filing, Comey received an email on July 16 with an attachment notifying her of her termination and providing no substantive reason. The suit says the dismissal came the day after supervisors asked her to lead a major public corruption case and three months after she received an "Outstanding" performance review. Comey served as the leader of the SDNY’s violent and organized crime unit and had been an assistant U.S. attorney since 2015.
The lawsuit ties the firing to a broader pattern of unexplained dismissals of prosecutors by the Justice Department and argues that Comey’s termination violated civil service protections under the Civil Service Reform Act, including prohibitions on termination for discriminatory reasons such as political affiliation. It seeks reinstatement, a declaration that the termination was unlawful, and relief for alleged harms to her employment prospects and reputation.
In a staff-wide email sent as she departed the office, Comey urged colleagues to resist intimidation and to continue independent decision-making. "If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain," she wrote. "Do not let that happen. Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought. Instead of fear, let this moment fuel the fire that already burns in the heart of this place. A fire of righteous indignation at abuses of power. Of commitment to seek justice for victims." The lawsuit quotes those remarks.
Comey has worked on high-profile matters, including cases involving Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell; she helped secure Maxwell's conviction and a 20-year sentence after Epstein died in jail awaiting trial. Her most recent high-profile matter was the prosecution of music executive Sean "Diddy" Combs. The filing notes Comey delivered closing arguments at the Combs trial, which ended with Combs cleared of the three most serious charges. Legal analysts widely questioned aspects of that prosecution and its handling.
The complaint also recounts a social media dispute involving James Comey that it says contributed to the administration’s animus. The filing references a May social media post in which James Comey shared an image of seashells arranged as "86 47," a display that President Trump and others interpreted as a violent threat against a future president. James Comey has denied any intent to advocate violence, and the filing recounts that his conduct has drawn repeated public criticism from the president since the FBI's Russia investigation.
The suit alleges that a campaign by right-wing internet personality Laura Loomer to pressure Comey’s removal preceded the termination. It asserts the absence of any legitimate justification for the firing and that defendants provided no explanation when she was dismissed. The filing contends those failures amount to an unlawful, politically motivated termination that upends core principles governing independent federal prosecutions.
Comey’s lawyers said the dismissal caused immediate and ongoing harm, including lost employment and financial opportunities, and potential reputational damage resulting from what the complaint alleges will be inaccurate or false information circulating in background checks. The lawsuit asks the court to order her reinstatement and to declare that the termination violated the Constitution’s separation-of-powers principles and statutory civil service protections.
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment. The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and will be assigned to a judge there. The lawsuit represents the latest legal dispute at the intersection of personnel decisions at the Justice Department and questions about political influence over federal prosecutors.