Maurene Comey, ‘Outstanding’ Prosecutor,’ Notches Win in Showdown With Todd Blanche Over Her Firing

The rejection by Judge Jesse Furman this week of the Department of Justice’s claim of executive privilege with respect to the firing of a federal prosecutor, Maurene Comey, is a setback for the Trump administration’s effort to shield the reasons for her termination.Ms. Comey, the daughter of the former FBI director, James Comey — who is himself facing criminal charges for allegedly threatening President Trump’s life — contends that she was fired last year solely on account of her parentage, her “perceived political affiliation and beliefs, or both.” The DOJ wanted the case heard not before a federal trial judge but by an administrative agency, the Merit Systems Protection Board.In April, Judge Furman, an appointee of President Obama, ruled that the case belonged in federal court because her claims were “outside the universe of cases” that Congress intended the board to adjudicate. Judge Furman, though, did not address the merits of Ms. Comey’s underlying claim that she was unjustly fired from a job at which she excelled. She led the prosecutions of, among others, Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein, and Sean “Diddy” Combs. The government concedes that she was an “outstanding” employee.Ms. Comey’s suit contends that the president and DOJ lack unbounded authority to fire career prosecutors, who work under the overhang of civil service laws. She was fired without notice or a chance to challenge the decision, which courts have reckoned for decades are the bare rudiments of due process owed to fired civil servants under the Constitution, which ordains that no person shall “be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”The DOJ has argued that Ms. Comey’s suit is barred by the prerogatives of executive privilege. In its motion to dismiss the case, the government contends that any investigation into the cause of her firing would “immediately implicate executive-privilege issues.” The process of discovery, whereby a judge presides over the exchange of evidence between parties, would set the “coequal branches of the Government” on a “collision course.”Ms. Comey’s lawyers claim that such concern over privilege is “premature and unfounded” because the records she seeks to win her case do not implicate Mr. Trump or Vice President Vance directly. Her brief asserts that the government “cannot use executive privilege as a sword, rather than a shield, to forestall or foreclose discovery.”Judge Furman concurs, reckoning that her requests for evidence are “relatively targeted” and can be addressed through the court’s “traditional discovery management toolkit.” Ms. Comey’s complaint reports she was told at the time of her firing only that “All I can say is it came from Washington. I can’t tell you anything else.” She attributes the remark to the former acting United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, who is now the director of national intelligence. The government asserts that the decision was ultimately made by the former attorney general, Pam Bondi.In oral arguments in May before Judge Furman, Ms. Comey’s lawyers claimed that the government was propounding a “novel and breathtaking theory about the scope of Article II power.” The DOJ maintains that the firing was valid “even if there were political motivations.” To that, Judge Furman, seeking to probe the limits of the government’s theory, asked if it would be lawful to pursue an “all-white executive branch? Or all-black?”Judge Furman’s one-page order suggests that he is bullish on Ms. Comey’s case reaching a jury. He writes that, while reserving judgment “on the pending motions for judgment on the pleadings pending completion of the briefing and oral argument, it appears likely that at least some of Plaintiff’s claims will survive the parties’ cross-motions and require discovery to resolve.”Mr. Trump has made his antipathy toward Mr. Comey well known, calling him a “crooked man” and a “dirty cop” and expressing the opinion that he ought to be imprisoned. Mr. Comey has been indicted twice during Mr. Trump’s second term. The first charges alleged that he lied to Congress during testimony he delivered in 2020 about the “Russiagate” investigation. Those charges were dismissed last year after the acting United States attorney, Lindsey Halligan, was disqualified.Mr. Comey has also moved to dismiss as “selective and vindictive” the charges handed up in April over his social media post depicting some seashells in an “86 47” formation. If the case survives that motion, it will go to trial in September.

Maurene Comey, ‘Outstanding’ Prosecutor,’ Notches Win in Showdown With Todd Blanche Over Her Firing

Maurene Comey, ‘Outstanding’ Prosecutor,’ Notches Win in Showdown With Todd Blanche Over Her Firing

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