‘Tool of a tyrant’: Former FBI head James Comey’s daughter fired by Trump

Following her termination as a federal prosecutor, Maurene Comey called on her colleagues to condemn ‘abuses of power’.

Maurene Comey — the daughter of James Comey, the former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) — has condemned President Donald Trump shortly after being fired from her role as a federal prosecutor in the United States.

In a memo to colleagues obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday, Comey wrote that, if a “career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain”.

“Do not let that happen,” she said. “Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought.”

The memo came one day after Comey was let go from her role as an assistant US attorney in New York for the Department of Justice.

The Trump administration has not yet provided a reason for Comey’s firing. But her position had long been seen as vulnerable due to her association with her father, who oversaw an investigation into alleged collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia during the 2016 presidential race.

The elder Comey was fired by Trump early in his first term, but the former FBI director has remained the subject of the president’s ire.

In congressional testimonies as well as a 2018 book, James Comey has decried Trump’s “unethical” and mafia-like approach to leadership. He has also argued that Trump’s decision to fire him was an effort to undermine the Russia investigation.

Since taking office for his second term, Trump and his allies have sought to purge Department of Justice employees involved in cases he disagreed with.

They include prosecutors who worked on special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecutions, as he pursued two federal criminal indictments against Trump: one for withholding classified documents while out of office and the other for attempting to subvert the 2020 election.

Both cases were dropped when Trump was re-elected in November 2024. It is against the Justice Department’s policies to prosecute a sitting president.

The Associated Press reported earlier this month that more career prosecutors, as well as support staff, involved in Smith’s indictment had their jobs terminated.

Critics argue that the Trump administration’s decision to fire such employees has eroded the Justice Department’s independence. Many also point out that career civil servants do not choose their cases and instead serve under whichever presidential administration is in office, regardless of politics.

In her message to colleagues, Maurene Comey urged her fellow prosecutors to use their current predicament to fight even more zealously for the fair and impartial rule of law.

“Instead of fear,” she wrote, “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.”

Veteran lawyer

Prior to her firing, Maurene Comey had been a veteran lawyer for the Southern District of New York, often considered one of the top prosecution offices in the country.

She had most recently prosecuted Sean “Diddy” Combs, in a case that saw the music producer found guilty on charges of transportation for the purposes of prostitution, but acquitted on charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking.

She had previously worked on the successful prosecution of Ghislaine Maxwell on sex-trafficking charges connected to financier Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse of underage girls.

The firing comes as Attorney General Pam Bondi faces criticism from segments of Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) base for not releasing more evidence related to Epstein, including a full accounting of his alleged “client list”.

Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan detention centre in 2019.

Some influential right-wing internet personalities, including Laura Loomer, have attacked Bondi and also called for Comey’s firing.

In addition, US media outlets have reported that the Trump administration is currently investigating James Comey and former director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John Brennan for their probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

At the time, the US intelligence community concluded that Russia did seek to meddle in the election, but that there was not enough evidence to support the claim that the Trump campaign sought to collude with Russian agents.

Further details of the reported probe into Comey and Brennan have not emerged.

Source:

Al Jazeera and news agencies