Federal prosecutor Maurene Comey, involved in the Epstein and Maxwell cases, was fired today. Photo / Getty Images
Federal prosecutor Maurene Comey, involved in the Epstein and Maxwell cases, was fired today. Photo / Getty Images
Federal prosecutor Maurene Comey, who worked on the criminal cases of Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, was fired today, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James B. Comey, was also a prosecutor in the recent trial of Sean Combs,the entertainer known as Diddy. The reason for her firing was not immediately clear.
The notice informing the younger Comey of her termination did not provide a reason, citing the broad powers afforded to the President in the US Constitution, according to one of the people familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity to discuss a personnel matter.
The notice was signed by Francey Hakes – a political appointee in the Justice Department who runs the Executive Office of US Attorneys.
The Justice Department faces backlash from Trump’s far-right base over its handling of the Epstein case. Photo / Getty Images
It was not known whether the younger Comey’s firing was connected to the Epstein case or her relation to the former FBI director, who was fired during President Donald Trump’s first term.
The Justice Department and White House have received intense backlash and criticism in recent weeks from Trump’s far-right base over its handling of the Epstein case and the administration’s decision not to release more records related to the former financier’s sex trafficking case. Epstein hanged himself in 2019 while awaiting trial. In 2021, Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking.
Combs was recently partially acquitted in a sex trafficking trial.
The Justice Department acknowledged last week that it had opened a criminal probe into James Comey – a frequent target of Trump who played a role in the investigation into his 2016 campaign’s ties to Russia. During his first presidential term, Trump fired Comey midway through his 10-year term as FBI director.
