Manhattan prosecutor's office recuses itself from Maurene Comey's lawsuit over firing

A U.S. attorney's bureau successful Albany volition support the Trump medication successful a suit brought by fired authoritative Maurene Comey, aft her erstwhile bureau successful Manhattan recused itself from the case.

Maurene Comey is suing the Justice Department, alleging that her sudden firing successful July was amerciable and "politically motivated" fixed her begetter James Comey's longstanding disapproval of President Trump, who fired the older Comey arsenic FBI manager successful 2017. 

On Thursday, a lawyer from the U.S. attorney's bureau successful the Northern District of New York informed a national justice she would correspond the Justice Department successful the lawsuit, according to a tribunal papers — marking the archetypal ceremonial quality by an lawyer for the authorities since the case was filed successful September.

The lawyer, Karen Folster Lesperance, explained successful a letter that the Northern District — located successful Albany — agreed to instrumentality connected the lawsuit past period due to the fact that of the Manhattan-based Southern District's recusal. She asked for an hold of adjacent week's deadline to respond to the case, which she said Maurene Comey's attorneys had agreed to.

"While we are moving diligently to familiarize ourselves with this substance and hole the government's response, further clip is needed to draught an anticipated question to disregard and consult with Department officials arsenic necessary," Lesperance wrote..

She besides said astir members of her office's civilian part were furloughed owed to the authorities shutdown and didn't instrumentality to the bureau until Thursday.

The missive doesn't specify wherefore the U.S. attorney's bureau for the Southern District of New York recused itself. But Maurene Comey had served arsenic a authoritative successful that bureau for years, moving connected the high-profile prosecutions of Sean "Diddy" Combs, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Her begetter besides led the bureau successful the aboriginal 2000s.

Maurene Comey was fto spell successful July. She said successful a enactment to colleagues obtained by CBS News that she was "summarily fired via memo from Main Justice that did not springiness a crushed for my termination."

Two months later, she sued the authorities implicit the termination, calling it amerciable and arguing she was unconstitutionally punished due to the fact that her begetter has clashed with Mr. Trump for years. She asked a national justice to state her firing unlawful and bid the Justice Department to fto her instrumentality to her occupation with backmost pay.

Separately, her father, James Comey, was criminally charged successful September for allegedly lying to Congress. His lawyers person pushed for the charges to beryllium dropped, calling them vindictive and driven by Mr. Trump's "personal animus."

Now, Maurene Comey's lawyers volition request to look disconnected against civilian attorneys successful the Northern District of New York, an bureau led by acting U.S. Attorney John Sarcone. 

Sarcone — a Trump appointee — antecedently served arsenic the office's interim U.S. attorney, a relation that is constricted to 120 days. When that clip bounds ran out, national judges successful the territory declined to widen his term, and the Justice Department made him acting U.S. lawyer — a controversial move that the Trump medication has attempted successful respective different offices, drafting ineligible challenges successful immoderate cases.

CBS News has reached retired to the Justice Department, Sarcone, Lesperance and Maurene Comey's lawyer for comment. A spokesperson for the Southern District of New York declined to comment.