A federal Obama judge in New York ruled Monday that the firing of Maurene Comey from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York was unlawful, ordering her reinstatement. Judge Jesse Furman found that the termination violated civil service rules, handing the Trump administration and the Justice Department a legal setback in the case.
Maurene Comey, for those who need a quick reminder, is the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey. You know, the same James Comey who spent years positioning himself as America’s moral compass before getting shown the door by Trump the first time around. The apple, apparently, does not fall far from the tree when it comes to complicated relationships with the Justice Department.
Judge Furman’s ruling centers on civil service protections, the kind of bureaucratic guardrails that make it remarkably difficult to remove federal employees even when an administration decides it wants a different direction. Maurene Comey firing ruling The civil service system, beloved by government workers and career bureaucrats everywhere, has once again done exactly what its critics say it does best, which is make it nearly impossible to clean house in the federal government.
The Trump administration and the Justice Department had moved to remove Comey from her post at the Southern District of New York, one of the most powerful and high-profile prosecutor’s offices in the country. The SDNY has a long and colorful history of doing whatever it wants, regardless of what anyone in Washington thinks about it, and this case is shaping up to be no different.
This is a developing story, and legal challenges to personnel decisions across the federal government are continuing to work their way through the courts. The administration will have options to appeal, and given the stakes involved in who staffs the offices that handle some of the nation’s biggest federal prosecutions, don’t expect this one to wrap up quietly.
One thing is certain: as long as there are federal judges and civil service rules, untangling the government’s HR department is going to require a lot more than a pink slip. Washington’s job security is apparently better than anyone else’s in America.
They can just make it super uncomfortable for her to work there and maybe she’ll quit on her own. You all know she’s not needed, especially with ties to her ol’ pappy.
