Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey, who as a federal prosecutor in Manhattan worked on cases against Diddy and Jeffrey Epstein, recently said in a note to colleagues that “fear is the tool of a tyrant” and that her firing without reason should fuel “a fire of righteous indignation at abuses of power” via PBS.
“If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain,” Comey said in the note, which was obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday.
“Do not let that happen. Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought.”
“Instead of fear,” she added, “let this moment fuel the fire that already burns at the heart of this place. A fire of righteous indignation at abuses of power. Of commitment to seek justice for victims. Of dedication to truth above all else.”
Until her firing on Wednesday, Comey was a seasoned attorney in the Southern District of New York, which is often regarded as the most prestigious office in the Justice Department’s prosecution branches. Her notable cases included the prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein for sex trafficking; Epstein died by suicide in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial. She was also involved in a recent case against Combs that concluded earlier this month with a mixed verdict.
Her termination marked the latest effort by the Justice Department to dismiss lawyers without explanation, a trend that has raised concerns about a disregard for civil service protections intended to prevent politically motivated firings. This trend has included the dismissal of several prosecutors who worked on cases that drew the ire of Donald Trump, such as those related to the U.S. Capitol riot, as well as lawyers and support staff involved in special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecutions against the former president.
Comey had long been viewed as a potential target, given her father’s strained relationship with Trump over the past decade. Recently, the Justice Department seemed to confirm that there is an investigation into James Comey, although the reasons for this inquiry remain unclear.
Maurene Comey had most recently been among the prosecutors in the sex trafficking and racketeering case against Combs. The failure to convict the hip-hop mogul of the main charges, while gaining a conviction on prostitution-related charges that will likely result in a prison sentence of just a few years, was viewed by some fellow lawyers as a rare defeat for prosecutors.
But she was successful in numerous other prosecutions, most notably the conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell on sex trafficking charges for helping financier Epstein sexually abuse underage girls. In that case, she delivered a rebuttal argument during closings, as she did in the Combs case.
