Judge orders DOJ to pay former SDNY prosecutor $157,000 in back wages

The U.S. Department of Justice must pay $157,000 in back wages to Maurene Comey, a former federal prosecutor in New York, after a judge ruled her 2025 firing was unlawful. Judge Jesse Furman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued the decision on Monday. The order grants Comey retroactive reinstatement as an assistant U.S. Attorney for a period spanning July 16, 2025, through Dec. 20, 2025. The judge set the end date at the point he inferred Comey accepted other employment.

The ruling rejects the department's position that the attorney general holds the power to remove a federal prosecutor at will. Furman found that the agency failed to follow procedural requirements under the Civil Service Reform Act. The law requires advance written notice, a reasonable time for the employee to respond, and a written decision with specific reasons. The DOJ conceded that Comey did not receive these protections. The judge also noted that the department's argument that her firing was justified by the need to promote service efficiency bordered on frivolous.

Furman pointed to Comey's performance history in his decision. Her supervisors and peers described her as a brilliant lawyer and an outstanding assistant U.S. Attorney. The judge wrote that the DOJ admitted her termination was not based on her performance. He stated that the government's reliance on Article II of the Constitution to justify the firing sought to overturn nearly two centuries of Supreme Court precedent. The court is bound to follow those precedents until the Supreme Court overturns them.

Comey's attorneys released a statement following the ruling. They said the victory belongs to Comey and all civil servants fighting for the rule of law. The lawyers argued that accepting the government's claim of unlimited executive power would unsettle the constitutional system of checks and balances. They emphasized that the president is not above the law.

The DOJ said it disagrees with the decision and plans to appeal. The appeal will proceed after Furman issues a final judgment. The White House referred reporters to a post by the DOJ's Rapid Response account on X. That post claimed the ruling obstructs President Trump's constitutional authority to fire individuals who wield executive power on his behalf.

Furman reserved judgment on Comey's First Amendment claim. She must file arguments by Nov. 9 explaining why that claim should not be dismissed as moot given the ruling on other grounds. Before her termination, Comey worked on prosecutions involving Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Sean Combs. Her father, former FBI Director James Comey, is currently under federal indictment for allegedly threatening Trump's life via social media posts.

Comey told colleagues in a note after her firing that if a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain. She urged her peers to let the moment fuel a fire of righteous indignation at abuses of power.