Justice Department fires Maurene Comey, prosecutor on Epstein case and
daughter of ex-FBI director
[July 17, 2025]
By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and ERIC TUCKER
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has fired Maurene Comey, the
daughter of former FBI director James Comey and a federal prosecutor in
Manhattan who worked on the cases against Sean “Diddy” Combs and Jeffrey
Epstein, three people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press
on Wednesday.
There was no specific reason given for her firing, according to one of
the people. They spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity to
discuss personnel matters.
Maurene Comey was a veteran lawyer in the Southern District of New York,
long considered the most elite of the Justice Department's prosecution
offices. Her cases included the sex trafficking prosecution of Epstein,
who killed himself behind bars in 2019 as he was awaiting trial, and the
recent case against Combs, which ended earlier this month with a mixed
verdict.
She didn't immediately respond to messages seeking comment Wednesday.
It's the latest move by the Justice Department to fire lawyers without
explanation, which has raised alarm over a disregard for civil service
protections designed to prevent terminations for political reasons. The
Justice Department has also fired a number of prosecutors who worked on
cases that have provoked President Donald Trump's ire, including some
who handled U.S. Capitol riot cases and lawyers and support staff who
worked on special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecutions of Trump.
Maurene Comey was long seen as a potential target given her father's
fraught relationship over the last decade with the Republican president.
The Justice Department recently appeared to acknowledge the existence of
an investigation into James Comey, though the basis for that inquiry is
unclear.
Most recently, she was the lead prosecutor among six female prosecutors
in the sex trafficking and racketeering case against Combs. The failure
to convict the hip-hop mogul of the main charges, while gaining a
conviction on prostitution-related charges that will likely result in a
prison sentence of just a few years, was viewed by some fellow lawyers
as a rare defeat by prosecutors.
But she was successful in numerous other prosecutions, most notably the
conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell on sex trafficking charges for helping
financier Epstein sexually abuse underage girls. In that case, she
delivered a rebuttal argument during closings, as she did in the Combs
case.
[to top of second column]
|
Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey is outside court during the
Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking trial, June 3, 2025. (AP
Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
Her firing comes as Attorney General Pam Bondi faces intense
criticism from some members of Trump's base for the Justice
Department's decision not to release any more evidence in the
government's possession from Epstein's sex trafficking
investigation. Some right-wing internet personalities, like Laura
Loomer, who have been critical of Bondi's handling of the Epstein
files had been calling for Maurene Comey's firing.
James Comey was the FBI director when Trump took office in 2017,
having been appointed by then-President Barack Obama and serving
before that as a senior Justice Department official in President
George W. Bush's administration. But his relationship with Trump was
strained from the start, and the FBI director resisted a request by
Trump at a private dinner to pledge personal loyalty to the
president — an overture that so unnerved the FBI director that he
documented it in a contemporaneous memorandum.
Trump soon after fired Comey amid an investigation into potential
ties between Russia and Trump's presidential campaign. That inquiry,
later taken over by special counsel Robert Mueller, would ultimately
find that while Russia interfered with the 2016 election and the
Trump team welcomed the help, there was insufficient evidence to
prove a criminal collaboration.
Trump's fury at the older Comey continued long after firing him from
the bureau, blaming him for a “hoax” and “witch hunt” that shadowed
much of his first term.
Comey disclosed contemporaneous memos of his conversations with
Trump to a friend so that their content could be revealed to the
media, and the following year he published a book calling Trump “ego
driven” and likening him to a mafia don. Trump, for his part, has
accused Comey and other officials of treason.
_____
Associated Press reporter Larry Neumeister in New York contributed.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
