The Trump administration's firing of former New York federal prosecutor Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey, was unlawful, a judge ruled Oct. 26.
The decision came after the younger Comey sued the administration last month, saying in a federal lawsuit she was not provided any cause for her July 2025 removal, court records show. Comey alleged she was fired because of her father's long-running tensions with President Donald Trump, in violation of laws prohibiting firing civil servants for political reasons and guaranteeing federal employees due process in employment disputes.
USA TODAY has reached out to the White House for comment.
A graduate of Harvard Law School, Maurene Comey was long-time prosecutor in New York's Manhattan
federal office who brought criminal cases against Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell as well as music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs.
During his first term as president, Trump fired James Comey and attacked him for his role in investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, which Trump won.
In 2024, the Justice Department charged James Comey with lying to Congress about authorizing leaks to the news media. He pleaded not guilty, and the case was dismissed after a judge found that the U.S. attorney who secured the charges was not lawfully appointed.
James Comey has since been charged in a separate federal case with threatening Trump and has pleaded not guilty.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
Contributing: Aysha Bagchi with USA TODAY and Reuters
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump administration's firing of Maurene Comey was unlawful, judge rules
