Former FBI Director Comey’s Daughter Sues DOJ Over Firing, Calls It Political

Maurene Comey, a career federal prosecutor and daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, has sued the Justice Department over her abrupt firing. She alleges that the move was politically motivated and violated both the Constitution and federal civil service protections.

The lawsuit, filed on Sept. 15 in Manhattan federal court, says Comey was wrongly removed from her post as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York on July 16. A one-page memorandum signed by Francey Hakes, director of the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, stated only that her removal was carried out “pursuant to Article II of the Constitution.”

“Ms. Comey’s termination—without cause, without advance notice, and without any opportunity to contest it—was unlawful and unconstitutional,” the complaint says.

The lawsuit argues that Comey’s removal not only violated her constitutional rights but also ran afoul of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, which governs how career federal employees can be disciplined or dismissed. The law sets out merit system principles and explicitly bars personnel actions based on political affiliation, requiring that any removal be supported by cause and carried out with due process.

“Her termination violated every one of those protections,” the complaint continues, arguing that she was targeted “solely or substantially because her father is former FBI Director James B. Comey, or because of her perceived political affiliation and beliefs, or both.”

Comey’s lawsuit argues that the firing “upends bedrock principles of our democracy and justice system” and that giving the president or his appointees unchecked power to remove career prosecutors on political grounds violates the separation of powers and the Bill of Rights.

Maurene Comey, who spent nearly a decade at the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office, handled some of its most prominent prosecutions, including those against Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, disgraced gynecologist Robert Hadden, and music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs. In her lawsuit, she asked the court to reinstate her to her former role in the Southern District of New York, an office that has long been viewed as unusually independent of Justice Department leadership in Washington.

Her abrupt removal could test how far the administration’s power extends over line prosecutors, who—unlike political appointees—typically serve through multiple administrations of both parties.

The Justice Department declined to comment in response to an inquiry from The Epoch Times.