NEW YORK (AP) — Fired federal prosecutor Maurene Comey sued the U.S. authorities Monday over her abrupt dismissal and is searching for to get her job again, saying it got here with out trigger or discover and was illegal and unconstitutional.
The lawsuit was filed in Manhattan federal court docket, the place Comey — the daughter of former FBI director James Comey — has earned reward for her dealing with of main advanced prosecutions, notably in intercourse abuse circumstances.
Comey sought her reinstatement, together with a declaration that her firing was illegal and a violation of the “Separation of Powers” as it’s described within the U.S. Structure.
“Defendants have not provided any explanation whatsoever for terminating Ms. Comey. In truth, there is no legitimate explanation,” the lawsuit mentioned, blaming the firing on the truth that her father is James Comey, “or because of her perceived political affiliation and beliefs, or both.”
James Comey was fired as FBI director by President Donald Trump in 2017. The lawsuit famous that he has since written a memoir vital of Trump and has continued to publicly criticize Trump and his Administration, together with a social media put up in Might Trump and different perceived as threatening.
The lawsuit famous that Maurene Comey’s firing in July got here the day after her supervisors had requested her to take the lead on a significant public corruption case and three months after she’d obtained her newest “Outstanding” overview.
“The politically motivated termination of Ms. Comey — ostensibly under ‘Article II of the Constitution’ — upends bedrock principles of our democracy and justice system,” the lawsuit mentioned. “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.”
Named as defendants within the lawsuit had been, amongst others, the Justice Division, the Govt Workplace of the President, U.S. Lawyer Basic Pamela Bondi, the Workplace of Personnel Administration and the US.
A message for remark from the Justice Division was not instantly returned.
Comey’s July 16 firing got here amid a spate of dismissals of prosecutors by the Justice Division with out clarification, elevating alarm that civil service protections meant to stop terminations for political causes had been being neglected.
The Justice Division additionally has fired some prosecutors who labored on circumstances which have provoked Trump’s ire, together with some who dealt with U.S. Capitol riot circumstances and legal professionals and help workers who labored on particular counsel Jack Smith’s prosecutions of Trump.
She grew to become a rising star in her workplace for her work on the case in opposition to financier Jeffrey Epstein and his onetime girlfriend, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, and the latest prosecution of music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Maxwell is serving a 20-year jail sentence after her December 2021 conviction on intercourse trafficking prices. Epstein took his personal life in a federal jail in August 2019 as he awaited trial on intercourse trafficking prices. Combs is awaiting sentencing subsequent month after his conviction on prostitution-related prices after he was exonerated in July of extra critical intercourse trafficking and racketeering conspiracy prices.
