U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman ordered the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to restore Maurene Comey’s employment record and provide back pay after finding federal civil-service protections were violated in her 2025 dismissal.
The Oct. 26 order covers July 16, 2025, the day she was dismissed, through Dec. 20, 2025. Furman inferred that Comey had accepted another job by the end of that period. The order calls for her employment record and benefits to be restored for those months, but does not set the back-pay amount or resolve costs and attorneys’ fees.
Federal law gives the attorney general authority to remove assistant U.S. attorneys, but Furman held that the Civil Service Reform Act also protected Comey. He said removals of covered employees require cause connected to efficient service and procedures that let the employee learn the grounds and respond. The termination memo cited Article II of the Constitution. Comey’s dismissal took effect immediately, without a prior explanation or an opening to contest the decision. Furman concluded that the department cited neither a cause nor a performance basis for dismissing her.
The court record did not clearly identify who made the firing decision. For his legal analysis, Furman assumed the defendants’ position that then-Attorney General Pamela Bondi directed it. He warned that setting aside the statutory limits could revive the “spoils system” Congress sought to end. The ruling follows EconoTimes’ earlier coverage of the court’s firing analysis.
Comey’s lawsuit alleged she was fired because she is the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey or because of her perceived political beliefs. Furman did not decide those allegations and left her First Amendment claim pending. The DOJ said it disagreed with the ruling and would appeal “in due course,” the Associated Press reported. Furman directed Comey to file by Nov. 9 explaining why the claim should not be dismissed; the department may respond within a week after she files.
