Federal court orders DOJ to pay $157,000 in back wages to fired prosecutor

The Department of Justice will incur a direct financial cost of approximately $157,000 in back wages following a federal court ruling that its 2025 termination of a senior New York prosecutor was unlawful. Judge Jesse Furman issued the order on Monday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, requiring the agency to pay Maurene Comey for the period between her dismissal and her subsequent employment.

Comey, the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, served as an assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York. The court calculated the retroactive reinstatement period from her termination on July 16, 2025, through December 20, 2025. Furman inferred that Comey accepted another position on the end date, which capped the liability for unpaid wages during that interval.

The ruling rejected the department's legal stance that the Attorney General holds the power to dismiss federal prosecutors without cause under Article II of the Constitution. Furman stated that the government's position sought to overturn nearly two centuries of Supreme Court precedent. The judge also found that the agency failed to comply with the Civil Service Reform Act, which mandates advance written notice, a reasonable time to respond, and a written decision with specific reasons for removal.

"Defendants concede, as they must, that Comey was not afforded these procedural protections," Furman wrote in the decision. The judge noted that the DOJ admitted the termination was not based on performance. Despite this, Comey received high praise from supervisors who described her work product and courtroom advocacy as among the finest in the country. Furman called the DOJ's statutory argument that the firing was implicit enough to promote efficiency "borderline on frivolous."

The Department of Justice said it disagrees with the decision and will appeal in due course. The White House directed reporters to a post by the DOJ's Rapid Response account on X, which stated the ruling obstructs President Trump's constitutional authority to fire individuals who wield executive power. Comey's lawyers called the outcome a victory for the rule of law, noting that the decision reaffirms that the President is not above the law.

The judge reserved judgment on Comey's claim that her firing violated First Amendment rights. Furman gave her until November 9 to file arguments on why that claim should not be dismissed as moot given his order on other grounds. The appeal process will begin after Furman issues a final judgment in the case.

Comey had been involved in high-profile prosecutions against Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Sean Combs before her departure. Her father, James Comey, is currently under federal indictment accusing him of threatening Trump's life via an Instagram post. His attorneys are seeking to have that case tossed out, a move that follows the dismissal of a previous indictment against him.