A federal judge ruled on Monday that the Trump administration acted illegally when it terminated Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, from her position as a federal prosecutor in New York last year.

Judge Jesse M. Furman determined that Maurene Comey, who served as an assistant U.S. attorney for ten years, was unlawfully removed in July 2025 despite handling major national cases and earning “the highest accolades from supervisors and peers alike.”

Following her removal, Comey brought a lawsuit against the Justice Department and other officials, alleging her dismissal breached the First Amendment, the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause, and the constitutional separation of powers.

The judge highlighted her assertion that her firing stemmed from being the daughter of James Comey—whom President Donald Trump has long regarded as an adversary—or from assumptions regarding her perceived political affiliation and beliefs.

Furman rejected arguments presented by the government asserting that federal prosecutors could be removed at will because they exercise the president’s “conclusive and preclusive” authority.

He stated that the government’s claim that Congress lacks the authority to govern the dismissal of federal prosecutors “flies in the face of nearly two centuries of Supreme Court precedent.”

Furman added: “Indeed, to accept Defendants’ argument would be to unsettle the very equilibrium established by this Nation’s constitutional system.”

According to the ruling, the dismissal breached constitutional separation of powers, statutory provisions, Fifth Amendment due process rights, and the Administrative Procedure Act.

While reserving judgment on the First Amendment claim for further submissions, Furman indicated an inclination to throw it out as largely moot, given that Comey now works in private practice and is no longer seeking active reinstatement.

To “make her whole” and shield her from career harm resulting from the “unlawful termination,” the judge ordered back pay and retroactive reinstatement covering the period between her termination and Dec. 20.

Her legal team, composed of Ellen Blain, Nicole Gueron, Deepa Vanamali, and Margaret Donovan, praised the court’s conclusion.

“This hard-earned victory belongs to Ms. Comey, to all civil servants, and to all fighting for the rule of law,” they stated. “As the Court correctly held, to accept the government’s argument about unlimited executive power ‘would be to unsettle the very equilibrium established by this Nation’s constitutional system.’ This decision reaffirms our bedrock system of checks and balances: the President is not above the law.”

The Justice Department did not immediately comment.

Under the Trump administration, the Justice Department has ousted numerous career employees, including agents and prosecutors connected to inquiries into President Donald Trump or seen as opposing the administration’s goals, triggering several federal lawsuits.

Maurene Comey’s dismissal was viewed as particularly personal due to her father’s long-standing conflict with Trump.

The president removed James Comey from his post as FBI director in May 2017 while the agency investigated potential links between Russia and the Republican’s victorious 2016 campaign. Trump has repeatedly demanded Comey’s imprisonment over subsequent years, with the Justice Department pursuing action to varying degrees of success.

A previous criminal case charging James Comey with lying to Congress in 2020 was thrown out when a judge determined the prosecutor involved had been appointed unlawfully. A separate active indictment accuses the former FBI director of threatening Trump through an Instagram post showing seashells arranged in the pattern of “86 47″—a charge he is fighting to dismiss and which has drawn skepticism from multiple legal observers.