The Justice Department will seek to advance or dismiss a lawsuit brought by former prosecutor Maurene Comey over her “unlawful and unconstitutional” firing from the office where she prosecuted Sean Combs, Ghislaine Maxwell and other high-profile defendants, according to a new court filing.
Maurene Comey, daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, was considered a star trial lawyer in the Manhattan prosecutor’s office, but she was abruptly fired in July. Their lawsuit, filed in September, said that “defendants failed to identify any cause or provide Ms. Comey with any due process for her removal.”
The Justice Department filing says the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York recused itself from the case, which will now be handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, which is led by a President Donald Trump loyalist with no prior experience as a prosecutor.
The government was supposed to respond to Comey’s lawsuit by Nov. 21, but the new office assigned to the case asked for an extension “to familiarize ourselves with this matter.”
The U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District of New York requested a response deadline of Dec. 15, at which time it would respond to the complaint or seek to dismiss it, according to the document. The filing also indicated that the office would try to move Comey’s lawsuit out of Manhattan.
Daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, Maurene Comey, leaves the Albert V. Bryan United States Courthouse on November 13, 2025 in Alexandria, Virginia.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
The Northern District office is led by John Sarcone, whose legitimacy to serve as acting U.S. attorney is being questioned by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Sarcone is investigating James for allegedly violating President Trump’s civil rights after she successfully sued Trump for a decade of corporate fraud.
Comey alleged that she was fired without “any legitimate explanation” and “solely or substantially because her father is James Comey,” who in turn is being prosecuted by a U.S. attorney’s office in Virginia on charges of lying to Congress. Comey’s father has denied all charges.
“In addition to her fundamental constitutional rights, Ms. Comey had legal protections under the Civil Service Reform Act that governed how and why she could be fired, including specific prohibitions against firing for discriminatory reasons such as political affiliation. Her firing violated each of those protections,” Maurene Comey’s lawsuit says.
