NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department is seeking dismissal of a lawsuit that fired former federal prosecutor Maurene Comey brought against it, stating that she didn’t follow the proper administrative complaint procedures before filing the suit.
The Justice Department's argument, outlined in court papers submitted on Monday, came ahead of a Thursday hearing in Manhattan federal court. Comey's lawsuit, filed in September, accuses the Justice Department, the Executive Office of the President, Attorney General Pamela Bondi, the Office of Personnel Management, and the United States itself of wrongful termination.
According to the lawsuit, Comey asserts that her firing was politically motivated, in part due to her father being former FBI Director James Comey, who was dismissed by President Donald Trump in 2017. In response, the Justice Department contended in a joint letter to Judge Jesse M. Furman that Comey's lawsuit should be dismissed because she did not comply with administrative protocols requiring an initial review by the Merit Systems Protection Board before taking legal action.
The Department emphasized that the board is the appropriate forum to determine if Comey's removal constituted a prohibited personnel action or was arbitrary. While Comey's attorneys argue that the board lacks the requisite expertise and claim constitutional issues are at stake, the government maintains the procedural requirements must be followed.
This legal entanglement comes amid scrutiny of Comey’s prosecutorial history, including high-profile cases such as securing convictions against notable figures like Sean Combs, who was found guilty of prostitution-related charges two weeks before her firing. Combs is set to be released from prison in 2028. Additionally, Maurene Comey previously led the prosecution against Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking.
As the case proceeds, it raises questions about the intersection of justice, political influence, and administrative processes.
