US justice department fires Jeffrey Epstein prosecutor Maurene Comey

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free

Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world

The US justice department has fired Maurene Comey, a prosecutor who worked on high profile cases including those against the late convicted paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein and socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey, was dismissed on Wednesday, the people said, though the reason was not clear. She had been a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York for almost a decade, and had recently worked on the case against music mogul Sean Combs.

Maurene Comey did not immediately respond to requests to comment. The DoJ and the SDNY declined to comment.

Comey’s firing comes as Trump is trying to contain criticism from his Maga base about his administration’s handling of documents linked to Epstein.

During his election campaign, Trump promised to release files related to Epstein’s death, which has been at the centre of a conspiracy ever since he died by suicide in 2019. Attorney-general Pam Bondi in February told Fox News that a list of the financier’s clients was “sitting” on her desk for review.

But last week, the Department of Justice and the FBI published a memo that stated there was no “client list” and no “credible evidence” that Epstein blackmailed prominent people. It also said Epstein died by suicide.

Laura Loomer, the Maga influencer, who has attacked Bondi’s handling of the matter and previously called for Comey to be fired, marked the move in a post on X on Wednesday evening: “This comes 2 months after my pressure campaign.”

Trump has defended Bondi, and earlier on Wednesday labelled the matter an “Epstein hoax . . . perpetrated by the Democrats” and said “some stupid Republicans . . . fall into the net and so they try and do the Democrats’ work”.

Trump fired James Comey during his first term. Earlier this year the former FBI head posted on social media a picture of a seashell arrangement that Trump supporters claimed incited violence against the president. Comey said in a post online that he did not realise the image could be associated with violence.

In the case against Combs, known as “Diddy”, the rapper was this month acquitted of the most serious charges against him but convicted of prostitution-related offences.