Judge Says Maurene Comey Can Sue the Trump Administration for Firing Her

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Judge Says Maurene Comey Can Sue the Trump Administration for Firing Her

Ms. Comey, a former federal prosecutor who handled cases against Jeffery Epstein and Sean Combs, claimed in her suit that she was fired for political reasons.

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Maurene Comey had been one of the most highly regarded trial lawyers in the Southern District of New York when she was fired last year.

Credit...

Jefferson Siegel for The New York Times

By

Benjamin Weiser

April 28, 2026,

9:44 a.m. ET

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Maurene Comey, a former federal prosecutor who accused the Trump administration of firing her last year for political reasons, may proceed with a lawsuit in federal court over the government’s objection, a Manhattan judge ruled on Tuesday.

Ms. Comey, a daughter of

James B. Comey

, the former F.B.I. director and one of President Trump’s best known adversaries, said in her suit that there was no plausible explanation for her abrupt July 2025 dismissal other than Mr. Trump’s enmity toward her father or her “perceived political affiliation and beliefs, or both.”

The Trump administration had asked the judge, Jesse M. Furman of Manhattan federal court, to dismiss Ms. Comey’s suit against the government, saying it had to be pursued first before the Merit Systems Protection Board, an independent agency that hears complaints from federal workers about employment actions.

But Judge Furman held that her claim was “outside the universe of cases” that Congress intended the board to resolve, and therefore the court had jurisdiction to consider the suit. The judge did not rule on the merits of Ms. Comey’s claim.

Ms. Comey, who had been a 10-year veteran of the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York and one of its most highly regarded trial lawyers, handled criminal cases against

Jeffrey Epstein

,

Ghislaine Maxwell

and

Sean Combs

, and also supervised the bribery prosecution of

Robert Menendez

, the former Democratic senator from New Jersey.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Benjamin Weiser is a Times reporter covering the federal courts and U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, and the justice system more broadly.

See more on:

U.S. Politics

,

James B Comey

,

Donald Trump

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