The U.S. Justice Department on 16 July 2025 dismissed Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey from the Southern District of New York, according to reports from Reuters, the Associated Press and ABC News. Comey received a letter citing the president’s Article II authority but giving no substantive reason for her termination, and departmental spokespeople declined to comment. Comey, the eldest daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, had spent nearly a decade in the Manhattan office. She recently led the sex-trafficking and racketeering case against music producer Sean “Diddy” Combs, which ended earlier this month with a split verdict. She was also part of the team that secured Ghislaine Maxwell’s 20-year sentence in 2022 and prosecuted Jeffrey Epstein before his 2019 death. Her removal comes as Attorney General Pam Bondi and President Donald Trump face criticism from some supporters over the administration’s decision not to release additional Epstein investigation files. The firing follows a string of unexplained personnel actions affecting prosecutors whose work has drawn presidential ire, prompting renewed concerns about political interference in the Justice Department’s civil-service ranks.