A federal judge ruled on Monday that the Department of Justice unlawfully fired Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, from her job as a federal prosecutor, and that the department must provide her with back pay, according to The Hill's report on the ruling. U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman issued the decision, which rejected the Trump administration's arguments that it had constitutional authority to fire her, The Hill reported.
The Guardian also reported that Furman said Comey was illegally fired. In its account, The Guardian wrote that she had been dismissed in 2025 even though her work was widely praised, and that she had served as an assistant U.S. attorney for a decade.
CBS News reported that Comey was “abruptly fired” in July 2025 from her position in the Southern District of New York. According to that report, she then sued the Justice Department over the firing, claiming it was unlawful. The ruling on Monday found the firing unlawful, as both The Hill and The Guardian reported.
The three outlets differ in their wording about the 2025 action. CBS News described an abrupt firing, The Hill described a termination, and The Guardian described a dismissal. All three place the action in 2025. The reports did not give the amount of back pay the department must provide.
The Hill and The Guardian both reported the decision as issued on Monday, the same day the three reports were published.
Sources: CBS News: Maurene Comey, James Comey's daughter, was unlawfully fired, judge rules; The Hill: Judge rules James Comey’s daughter unlawfully fired as federal prosecutor; The Guardian: Maurene Comey was illegally fired as federal prosecutor, judge rules.