A former federal prosecutor, Maurene Comey, who prosecuted Jefferey Epstein, his longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, and most recently the music producer Sean “Diddy” Combs, filed a lawsuit on Monday against the Trump administration and the Department of Justice over her abrupt firing in July. 

“Ms. Comey’s termination—without cause, without advance notice, and without any opportunity to contest it—was unlawful and unconstitutional,” the lawsuit alleges.  

As the Sun reported, the Department of Justice fired Ms. Comey, 37, the daughter of a former FBI director, James Comey, in July from her role as a federal prosecutor at the Southern District of New York, whose jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of the state of New York, including Manhattan and the Bronx. Ms. Comey had been employed there since November 2015. 

“In her tenure at SDNY,” the lawsuit states, Ms. Comey “handled eleven criminal trials, secured over 200 convictions, briefed and argued multiple appeals. … Her performance consistently earned her accolades and promotions, as well as ‘Outstanding’ ratings in her annual reviews along with glowing commentary.” Despite these accolades Ms. Comey recently suffered a setback after she failed to win a conviction of Mr. Combs on the most serious charges.

The day before her termination, on July 15, the lawsuit details, Ms. Comey had met with the co-chiefs of the SDNY Public Corruption Unit, and was asked to “join the trial team” for an upcoming “major” case at SDNY. Then, on July 16 at 4:57 p.m, Ms. Comey received an email from the office of human resources at the Department of Justice, terminating her “effective immediately.” 

“Ms. Comey received no notice or reason for the termination decision, and she was provided with no opportunity to respond,” the lawsuit continues, adding that her “supervisors were visibly shocked and upset by the news.” 

When Ms. Comey asked the interim United States attorney for SDNY, Jay Clayton, for an explanation, he told her, “All I can say is it came from Washington. I can’t tell you anything else.” 

The lawsuit alleges that the termination was based on Ms. Comey’s family ties. “In truth, there is no legitimate explanation. Rather, Defendants fired Ms. Comey solely or substantially because her father is former FBI Director James B. Comey, or because of her perceived political affiliation and beliefs, or both.” 

President Trump fired Mr. Comey — who himself was United States attorney for the Southern District earlier in his career — during his first term after the former FBI director initiated the investigation into allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 election, or as Mr. Trump likes to call it, “the Russia Russia Russia hoax.” 

Mr. Comey has since emerged as one of Mr. Trump’s fiercest opponents, regularly appearing on television to mock Mr. Trump and publishing an anti-Trump book. He has continued to tangle with Mr. Trump, who recently has accused him of treason and suggested he should be prosecuted. 

At the time Ms. Comey was fired, Mr. Trump was also dealing with the leaking of embarrassing material from the justice department’s Epstein investigation to the Wall Street Journal, which he is now suing.

Ms. Comey’s lawsuit also mentions provocateur Laura Loomer, an informal but influential adviser to Mr. Trump, who on social media had called for the “liberal daughter” of Mr. Comey to be fired because she found that the prosecutor posed a national security threat due to her “proximity to a criminal” — Mr. Comey — “who just committed a felony by threatening to assassinate the President.” 

In May Mr. Comey posted, and later deleted, a photograph on instagram depicting seashells arranged to spell out the numbers “86 47.” The cryptic image drew strong criticism from Mr. Trump and his supporters, who interpreted it as a call to assassinate the 47th president. 

Ms. Loomer questioned “the impartiality” of Ms. Comey “due to the undeniable bias and influence stemming from James Comey’s public criticism of Trump and the ongoing investigation into his Instagram post.” 

After Ms. Comey was fired, Ms. Loomer celebrated the termination on X, writing that the action came “2 months” after her “pressure campaign on Pam Bondi to fire Comey’s daughter.” 

Attorneys for Ms. Comey described the firing as a “politically motivated termination,” and accuse the Department of Justice of violating her due process right by not providing a reason for her firing other than citing Article II of the Constitution, which establishes the executive branch, headed by the president, and outlines the president’s powers, including his ability to remove civil officers “at will.” 

To fire Ms. Comey, “ostensibly under ‘Article II of the Constitution’ – upends bedrock principles of our democracy and justice system,” the lawsuit states. “Assistant United States Attorneys like Ms. Comey must do their jobs without fearing or favoring any political party or perspective, guided solely by the law, the facts, and the pursuit of justice.” 

Ms. Comey deems the termination to be “invalid” because she is not senior enough in the government for the president to treat her like an “at will” employee and use his powers to summarily fire her. Furthermore, she argues that the authority given to the president by Article II does not extend to the Department of Justice nor to the director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, who effectively signed the termination. 

“… Article II of the Constitution provides authority for the President, and the President alone, to appoint principal officers, concomitant with the power to remove them ‘at will,’” the lawsuit argues. “Ms. Comey was not a principal officer, and neither the Department of Justice nor Ms. Hakes—who signed the Termination Memorandum and ostensibly terminated Ms. Comey—is the President.”  

Even if the president had signed the termination himself, the lawsuit says, “Neither the President nor the Department of Justice have unlimited authority to remove Assistant United States Attorneys.”  

Ms. Comey, who filed her lawsuit against the office of the president, the Department of Justice, Attorney General Pam Bondi, the executive office of U.S. attorneys, the office of personal management, and Francey Hakes, who signed the termination, demands a trial by jury. The lawsuit’s filing was quickly followed by a fully reported New York Times article on the matter, with three bylines, that may have been prepared in advance.

She also seeks “A declaration that Defendants violated the Separation of Powers,” and is further asking to be reinstated in her role as a federal prosecutor and for “an award of backpay and other monetary and administrative relief as appropriate,” as well as compensation for the “costs of this action” and her attorney fees.

Neither the Department of Justice nor the president have made any public comments regarding the matter.