Former federal prosecutor Maurene Comey and the Trump administration have not discussed settling their civil suit and do not believe alternatives to a trial “would be helpful at this time,” the parties told the judge in a letter Monday.
Comey is suing over her firing, arguing that she was “abruptly and unfairly fired” because her father is former FBI Director James Comey, or because of her alleged political affiliations and beliefs.
In the letter, his attorneys and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, which is handling the case for the Justice Department, asserted the need for a conference with the judge, which is currently scheduled for Thursday.
Comey wants the judge to order the government to start presenting evidence. Government lawyers are expected to ask the judge for time to file a motion to dismiss the case.
The defense said the proper place for Comey to argue is not in court, but before the Merit Systems Protection Board. Comey’s lawyers said his case presents “novel” questions about executive power that a judge must resolve.
Daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, Maurene Comey, leaves the Albert V. Bryan United States Courthouse on November 13, 2025 in Alexandria, Virginia. The court is hearing oral arguments challenging the appointment of U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District Lindsey Halligan, who signed the indictments against James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, as illegitimate.
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“While there are cases discussing the President’s authority under Article II to remove principal officials and junior officials, we are not aware of any decision that discusses (let alone approves) the President’s use of Article II authority to remove without cause a non-official public service employee, such as a linear-level assistant U.S. attorney, in direct violation of the CSRA and the Bill of Rights,” Comey attorneys Nicole Gueron, Ellen Blain, Deepa Vanamali and Margaret. Donovan wrote.
The defense characterized Comey’s case as routine.
“A federal employee’s claims that his removal from federal service was arbitrary and capricious or carried out in a manner that did not provide the due process he claims was due is not a new issue,” government lawyers said.
The letter said there are no meaningful talks to reach a solution and that alternative dispute resolution mechanisms would be futile at this time.
