The justice department has fired Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey and a prosecutor in the federal cases against Sean “Diddy” Combs and Jeffrey Epstein, two people familiar with the matter told the Associated Press on Wednesday.
There was no specific reason given for her firing from the US attorney’s office in the southern district of New York, according to one of the people who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters.
Her termination comes shortly after she prosecuted Combs, who was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges. The rapper was convicted of lesser prostitution-related offenses.
Comey also prosecuted Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell on sex trafficking charges.
Earlier this month, attorney general Pam Bondi attracted the ire of longtime, rightwing supporters of Donald Trump when she announced the justice department did not have a list of Epstein’s alleged clients. Calls for the department to release the “Epstein files” have grown louder in recent days, with House speaker Mike Johnson breaking with the president on Tuesday.
Rightwing media and commentators begin to lash out at the justice department. Laura Loomer, the 32-year-old conspiracy theorist whose influence over Trump has come under scrutiny, accuses Bondi of “covering up child sex crimes”.
The justice department recently appeared to acknowledge the existence of an investigation into James Comey, though the basis for that inquiry is unclear. He was abruptly fired by Trump during his first administration in 2017.
The justice department and Comey did not immediately respond to the Guardian’s request for comment.
More details soon …
