Court orders back pay after ruling Comey’s firing unlawful

A federal judge ruled Oct. 26, 2026, that the Justice Department unlawfully removed Maurene Comey from her assistant U.S. attorney position and ordered retroactive employment status, back pay and related benefits for the period from July 16 through Dec. 20, 2025. The ruling came from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The order covers a past period of employment. It does not require Comey to return to an active Justice Department job, and the court has not set the amount of back pay she is owed.

The ruling and its limits i

Judge Jesse M. Furman concluded that the Civil Service Reform Act’s limits on removing federal employees applied to Comey and were violated in her case. He rejected the government’s argument that the president’s Article II authority allowed the removal or that Congress could not regulate the removal of federal prosecutors.

Furman resolved the parties’ cross-motions for judgment on the pleadings. He granted Comey judgment on Counts One, Two, Five and Six, which involved separation of powers, the Administrative Procedure Act, and Fifth Amendment due-process and statutory rights. The court granted the government judgment on Count Three, dismissed Counts Seven through Ten, and reserved judgment on Count Four, Comey’s First Amendment claim.

The relief period starts on the date Comey’s employment ended, July 16, 2025, and stops on Dec. 20. In setting that end date, the court inferred that Comey had accepted another job by Dec. 20; she no longer sought actual reinstatement to her former position. That distinction explains why the order restores her status for a completed period rather than directing her back to DOJ.

The court also ordered the government to change Comey’s personnel records to show a resignation effective Dec. 20, 2025, rather than a termination on July 16. It ordered restoration of her service tenure and specified pension and Thrift Savings Plan rights, credits and benefits, including required employer contributions. The order also provides for restoration of her employee Thrift Savings Plan contributions from the back pay awarded, with interest and earnings as specified by the court.

The court has not determined the precise back-pay amount or whether Comey will receive costs or attorney fees. The ruling grants relief in her case; it does not itself reinstate or award individual relief to other federal employees.

First Amendment claim remains undecided i

Furman said he was inclined to dismiss Comey’s First Amendment claim but reserved judgment and ordered her to explain why it should remain. Her memorandum, limited to 3,500 words, is due Nov. 9, 2026. Any government opposition is also limited to 3,500 words and is due within one week after her submission. The court has not yet decided the claim.

The Justice Department said it disagreed with the ruling and would appeal.