The New York Times reports:

Maurene Comey, a federal prosecutor who handled criminal cases against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, is contesting her abrupt July firing in a lawsuit that challenges Donald J. Trump’s claim of sweeping presidential power.

Ms. Comey, whose father, James B. Comey, is a former F.B.I. director, says in the lawsuit filed on Monday that she was never given a reason for her dismissal. She contends that no plausible explanation exists other than that she is the daughter of one of the president’s best-known adversaries — or her perceived political affiliations.

Ms. Comey is among many federal prosecutors and Justice Department officials who have been fired in President Trump’s second term, with no reason given beyond Article II of the Constitution, which broadly describes the president’s powers. Some have challenged their dismissals before administrative judges; others have sued in federal court.

Ms. Comey’s lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, names as defendants the Office of the President, the Justice Department, Attorney General Pam Bondi and others, and calls her firing from the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York illegal.

“The politically motivated termination of Ms. Comey — ostensibly under ‘Article II of the Constitution’— upends bedrock principles of our democracy and justice system,” the lawsuit says. “Assistant United States attorneys like Ms. Comey must do their jobs without fearing or favoring any political party or perspective, guided solely by the law, the facts and the pursuit of justice.”

Ms. Comey, a 10-year veteran who was among the most highly regarded trial lawyers in the Manhattan prosecutor’s office, was fired as the White House sought to quell frustration from its base about its reluctance to release files related to Mr. Epstein, the disgraced financier. Mr. Epstein killed himself in a federal jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. His associate, Ms. Maxwell, was convicted of sex trafficking a minor and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The brief memorandum informing Ms. Comey of her termination gave no explanation for the firing, but cited Article II. In the lawsuit, Ms. Comey said that the U.S. attorney, Jay Clayton, was unable to provide her with a rationale.

“All I can say is it came from Washington,” Mr. Clayton told her, according to the lawsuit. “I can’t tell you anything else.” [Continue reading…]