Fired federal prosecutor Maurene Comey sent an email Thursday morning to her former colleagues at the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, warning that it’s becoming harder for them to do their jobs “without fear.”
In the email, Comey — daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, a frequent target of President Donald Trump — said the Trump Justice Department fired her with no explanation a day earlier. She has prosecuted some of the city’s highest-profile cases, including the one involving Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as Sean “Diddy” Combs’.
“If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain,” she wrote. “Do not let that happen. Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought.
The email was first reported by Politico. MSNBC legal correspondent Lisa Rubin obtained the email from a source who received it directly from Comey.
Read Comey’s full email below:
Yesterday was unexpectedly my last day in the Office. I was summarily fired via memo from Main Justice that did not give a reason for my termination.
Every person lucky enough to work in this office constantly hears four words to describe our ethos: Without Fear or Favor. Do the right thing, the right way, for the right reasons without fear of retribution and without favor to the powerful.
For the majority of my nearly ten years in SDNY, fear was never really conceivable. We don’t fear bad press; we have the luxury of exceptional security keeping us physically safe; and, so long as we did our work with integrity, we would get to keep serving the public in this office. Our focus was really on acting “without favor.” That is, making sure people with access, money, and power were not treated differently than anyone else; and making sure this office remained separate from politics and focused only on the facts and the law.
But we have entered a new phase where “without fear” may be the challenge. If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain. Do not let that happen. Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought. Instead of fear, 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.
It has been an honor to fight for those principles by your side.
Maurene
