(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department will seek to move or dismiss a lawsuit filed by former prosecutor Maurene Comey over her “unlawful and unconstitutional” firing from the office where she prosecuted Sean Combs, Ghislaine Maxwell and other high-profile defendants, according to a new court filing.
The daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, Maurene Comey was considered a star trial lawyer in the Manhattan prosecutor’s office but was abruptly fired in July. Her lawsuit, filed in September, said that “Defendants did not identify any cause or provide Ms. Comey any due process for her removal.”
The DOJ’s filing said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York recused itself from the case, which will now be handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, which is led by a loyalist of President Donald Trump with no prior experience as a prosecutor.
The government was supposed to respond to Comey’s lawsuit by Nov. 21 but the new office assigned to the case asked for an extension “to familiarize ourselves with this matter.”
The U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District of New York sought a response deadline of Dec. 15, by which time it would either answer the complaint or seek to dismiss it, the filing said. The filing also indicated that the office would try to move Comey’s suit out of Manhattan.
The Northern District office is led by John Sarcone, whose legitimacy to serve as acting U.S. attorney is being challenged by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Sarcone is investigating James for allegedly violating President Trump’s civil rights after she successfully sued Trump over a decade’s worth of business fraud.
Comey alleged she was fired with “no legitimate explanation” and “solely or substantially because her father is James Comey,” who himself is being prosecuted by a U.S. attorney’s office in Virginia on charges of lying to Congress. The elder Comey has denied all charges.
“In addition to her fundamental constitutional rights, Ms. Comey had statutory protections under the Civil Service Reform Act that governed how and why she could be terminated, including specific prohibitions against termination for discriminatory reasons such as political affiliation. Her termination violated every one of those protections,” Maurene Comey’s lawsuit said.
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