Former assistant U.S. attorney Maurene Comey sued the Trump administration Monday in Manhattan federal court, asking to be reinstated after she was fired in July and alleging the dismissal was politically motivated and unconstitutional.
The lawsuit contends Comey was terminated because she is the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, because of her perceived political affiliation and beliefs, or both. It seeks a declaration that the firing was unlawful and violated the Constitution’s separation-of-powers principles as well as protections of the Civil Service Reform Act.
Comey, who had been an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York since 2015 and led the office’s violent and organized crime unit, said she received an email on July 16 notifying her that she was being dismissed “(p)ursuant to Article II of the United States Constitution and the laws of the United States,” but was given no explanation for the decision. The complaint says the dismissal came the day after supervisors asked her to lead a major public-corruption matter and three months after she received an “Outstanding” performance review.
The suit names as defendants the Department of Justice, the Executive Office of the President, U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi, the Office of Personnel Management and the United States. It alleges the termination violated civil-service protections that prohibit firing for discriminatory reasons such as political affiliation and says the decision has caused employment, financial and reputational harms.
Comey’s firing drew attention after she led the prosecution in the high-profile trial of music executive Sean "Diddy" Combs, a case critics said went badly for prosecutors. She delivered closing arguments in that trial and faced scrutiny after Combs was cleared of the three most serious offenses. The complaint notes Comey had previously worked on cases against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell; Maxwell was later convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison after Epstein’s death while awaiting trial.
In an officewide email sent on her way out, Comey urged colleagues to resist fear and continue independent decision-making, writing that “fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought.” The complaint quotes that message and argues that the unexplained termination risks chilling the independence of other career prosecutors.
The lawsuit also points to a several-week campaign by right-wing commentator Laura Loomer to have Comey removed from her post and highlights public criticisms and social-media posts involving James Comey, who was fired by President Trump in 2017 and has since published criticism of the former president. The complaint references a May social-media post by James Comey that some including members of the Trump family construed as threatening; James Comey has denied any intent to harm the former president. The complaint alleges that Maurene Comey’s connection to her father and his public profile played a part in her termination.
The filing says the recent wave of unexplained dismissals of prosecutors by the Justice Department raised concerns that civil-service protections were being overlooked. It argues that the Civil Service Reform Act sets procedures and prohibitions that were not followed, and that terminating a career assistant U.S. attorney without legitimate explanation undermines the rule of law.
The complaint seeks not only reinstatement but also a judicial declaration that the termination was unlawful and violated constitutional and statutory safeguards. It also seeks relief for the alleged harms to Comey’s career and reputation.
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment. The lawsuit asks the court to address whether the asserted reliance on Article II authority to remove a career prosecutor was proper and whether the civil-service protections invoked by Comey were violated.
James Comey, who served as FBI director from 2013 until his firing in 2017, has been a frequent critic of Mr. Trump and his administration since his dismissal. The lawsuit ties Maurene Comey’s termination to that broader public history while focusing its legal claims on procedural and statutory protections governing career federal employees.