WASHINGTON — A federal judge ordered the Trump administration Monday to reinstate Maurene Comey, daughter of former FBI boss James Comey, after ruling that her dismissal last year from the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York was illegal.

US District Judge Jesse Furman also directed the Justice Department to give Maurene back pay.

“Congress granted the Attorney General power to remove Comey,” Furman wrote in a scathing, 55-page order. “Congress imposed limits on that power — limits that, even Defendants concede, were violated in Comey’s case.”

Judge Jesse Furman ruled the Trump DOJ unlawfully fired prosecutor Maurene Comey (above), ordering the Justice Department to reinstate her with backpay. Getty ImagesNicolle Wallace (left) interviewing former FBI Director James Comey (right) during “Former FBI Director James Comey In Conversation With MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace” at 92NY on May 30, 2023, in New York City. Getty ImagesMaureen Coney making her closing arguments during Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking trial in New York City on June 27, 2025. REUTERS

The judge added that allowing Comey’s dismissal to stand “would be to unsettle the very equilibrium established by this Nation’s constitutional system.”

The younger Comey was dismissed in July 2025 after a distinguished tenure that included prominent roles in the prosecutions of late sex predator Jeffrey Epstein, his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, and hip-hop impresario Sean “Diddy” Combs.

The administration is likely to appeal Furman’s ruling following the Supreme Court’s June decision that expanded his ability to fire federal officials at will.

James Comey is awaiting trial in North Carolina on federal charges of threatening to kill the president, an indictment he contends is the result of selective and vindictive prosecution. His arraignment is scheduled for January 2027.