Politics
Federal judge says Comey’s dismissal violated civil service law
A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration lacked legal authority to fire Manhattan prosecutor Maurene Comey and violated the Civil Service Reform Act. The decision rejects the administration’s claim that presidential powers prevent Congress from regulating the removal of federal prosecutors.
A federal judge ruled Monday that the Trump administration illegally fired Maurene Comey, a longtime federal prosecutor in Manhattan, finding that her dismissal violated the Civil Service Reform Act and was not authorized by statute.
U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman said the Justice Department’s argument that the president’s constitutional powers under Article II bar Congress from regulating prosecutors’ removal conflicts with nearly two centuries of Supreme Court precedent. The administration advanced what Furman described as a new and expansive theory of executive power, according to his ruling.
Comey, the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, was abruptly dismissed in 2025 without an explanation. She sued the Justice Department over the firing. The ruling challenges the administration’s effort to claim broad authority over federal personnel, though the available details do not specify what relief the court ordered for Comey.