Judge Orders Back Pay For Comey

Federal courts in New York have become a focal point for disputes over executive authority in the Department of Justice. On Monday, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to pay back wages to Maurene Comey, a former assistant U.S. attorney.

U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman ruled that the firing of Comey on July 16, 2025, was illegal. He determined that the administration overstepped executive boundaries by terminating an inferior officer without cause. Furman rejected the government's argument that the president possesses unrestricted power to remove such employees, noting that Congress had implemented specific protections.

The judge granted Comey back pay from the date of her termination through December 2025. He also ordered her retroactive reinstatement for that period. Furman wrote that accepting the administration's theory would unsettle the constitutional equilibrium established by the nation's system. He stated that defendants invented an expansive theory of executive power to remove employees who previously held removal protections.

Comey served as an assistant U.S. attorney in Manhattan since 2015. Her caseload included high-profile prosecutions against Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Sean Combs. In her lawsuit, she alleged that her termination violated federal laws prohibiting political reasons for firing civil servants. Her legal team argued that her position was eliminated due to the president's antipathy toward her father, former FBI Director James Comey.

The administration has sought to reduce the size of the federal government and remove prosecutors involved in cases it disagrees with since Trump returned to office. In response to Monday's ruling, the administration said it disagrees with the decision and will appeal in due course. The Justice Department had countered that the president has wide latitude to fire federal employees without cause.

The ruling comes amid ongoing legal battles involving James Comey, Maurene Comey's father. He was fired during Trump's first term and has become a prominent critic. Trump has pushed the Justice Department to prosecute several of his critics, including James Comey. In a September 2025 social media post, Trump called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue charges against James Comey and others, stating that justice must be served.

James Comey faces two active legal challenges. In November, a judge dismissed a case where he was charged with lying to Congress, finding the prosecutor had been unlawfully appointed. In April, he was charged again in a separate case accusing him of threatening Trump by sharing an image of seashells arranged to form the numbers 86 47. The administration argued the term 86 refers to throwing someone out, while the 47 referenced Trump as the 47th president.