DOJ Ousts Jeffrey Epstein Prosecutor With No Reason Cited
No reason was given for Maurene Comey’s termination, but her surname could offer a clue.
Brendan McDermid/Reuters
The Department of Justice has reportedly fired Maurene Comey, a seasoned federal prosecutor who worked on the cases against Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Comey is also the daughter of ex-FBI director James Comey, who was sacked by Donald Trump in 2019 following the bureau’s investigation of potential Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election.
The Daily Beast has contacted the DOJ for confirmation of the dismissal.
U.S. attorney Maurene Comey arrives for the Sean "Diddy" Combs sex trafficking trial at Manhattan Federal Court on May 22, 2025.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Sources contacted by ABC News said Maurene lost her job as the president had privately vented about having a Comey working in his administration.
The Washington Post reported that “The notice informing the younger Comey of her termination did not provide a reason, citing the broad powers afforded to the president in the U.S. Constitution.”
Comey has worked as a lawyer in the Southern District of New York since November 2015. She was a lead prosecutor in the cases against Epstein and his associate, Maxwell. Her most recent case was the Diddy trial over sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
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President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi have been haunted by the Jeffrey Epstein case this year. In February, Bondi told Fox News the FBI had given her files related to the late sex offender, who was charged with running a child prostitution ring.
Attorney General Pam Bondi with President Donald Trump.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Bondi said at the time that she was ready to review them, adding, “That’s been a directive by President Trump.”
Earlier this month, the Department of Justice suddenly backflipped, with a leaked FBI memo claiming no such client list exists. Even Trump’s own conservative base has splintered over the botched handling of the Epstein evidence.
On Wednesday, the president blasted “past” MAGA supporters as “weaklings” and “stupid” for continuing to fixate on what he labeled the “Jeffrey Epstein hoax.”
Former FBI Director James Comey has been in President Trump's sights.
Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
Trump has also been highly critical of James Comey, who now works as an author. This month, it was revealed that the Secret Service tracked the former FBI boss the day after he posted what the Trump administration took as an assassination threat directed at the president.
In May, Comey posted a photo of seashells in the configuration of the numbers 86 and 47. “Eighty-six” is a slang term that means to get rid of something. It has long been used in a variety of contexts, from removing an item from a restaurant’s menu to murdering someone.
Court sketch of Maurene Comey making her closing arguments during Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking trial in New York in June.
Jane Rosenberg/REUTERS
Trump, who is the 47th president, told Fox News at the time that Comey knew what the numbers meant. “A child knows what that meant,” Trump said. “If you’re the FBI director and you don’t know what that meant, that meant assassination.”
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