The US Department of Justice has terminated the employment of a seasoned federal prosecutor, Maurene Comey, who had worked on prominent cases involving sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as hip hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.
It is unclear why Maurene Comey was dismissed from her position at the Southern District of New York, but her termination has been confirmed by sources to the BBC’s US partner CBS.
She is the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, who was fired by President Donald Trump in 2017.
The Justice Department has been reportedly letting go of lawyers associated with cases that angered the president, including the 2021 US Capitol riot and a special prosecutor’s investigation into Trump.
Ms. Comey, who had been a trial attorney at the prestigious Southern District of New York since 2015, was reportedly given no reason for her termination, according to a source familiar with the matter, as reported by Politico.
Her dismissal comes amid Trump and Justice Department head, Attorney General Pam Bondi, facing criticism for the administration’s handling of documents related to Epstein.
Epstein, a high-profile convicted pedophile, died by suicide while awaiting trial in 2019.
In February, Bondi appeared to suggest that she would release Epstein’s client list, but later stated that no such list exists and that no further files would be released.
Ms. Comey’s termination follows her prosecution team’s failure to secure a conviction of Sean Combs on the most serious charges he faced, namely racketeering and sex trafficking. The rapper was found guilty on less severe counts this month.
According to ABC News, Trump has privately expressed his dissatisfaction with the presence of a Comey working within his administration.
Ms. Comey’s father, James Comey, recently spoke with the US Secret Service following an incident where he posted, then deleted, an Instagram photo of a seashell that federal officials claimed was an incitement to violence against Trump.
It was also reported this month that the Justice Department has initiated an investigation into the former FBI director.
Prosecutors are reportedly investigating Comey’s statements to Congress in relation to an inquiry into alleged Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. That investigation did not find any criminal conspiracy between Trump and the Kremlin.
