Maurene Comey, who is the daughter of the former F.B.I. director James Comey, worked on the criminal cases against Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Maurene Comey, a Manhattan federal prosecutor who worked on the criminal cases against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, was fired on Wednesday, according to four people with knowledge of the matter.
The reason for Ms. Comey’s firing was not initially clear. Her dismissal immediately raised questions, given her involvement in cases that have roiled the White House in recent days, as well the fact that her father is the former F.B.I. director James Comey, who was fired by President Trump during his first term.
A spokesman for the Southern District of New York declined to comment. The White House press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, including about whether it had asked the Justice Department to fire Ms. Comey.
Mr. Trump has in recent days claimed without evidence that files related to Mr. Epstein’s crimes were concocted by Mr. Comey, as well as by former Presidents Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Barack Obama.
Ms. Comey was given a letter informing her of the termination, three of the people with knowledge of the matter said. Two said that the letter said that Ms. Comey was being fired under Article II of the Constitution, which describes the powers granted to the president.
Ms. Comey was a prosecutor in the criminal case against Mr. Epstein, the disgraced financier who hanged himself in 2019 before he could go to trial. And she was on the team that prosecuted Ms. Maxwell, Mr. Epstein’s onetime girlfriend, who was convicted of sex trafficking in 2021.
Ms. Comey was also a prosecutor on the trial of Sean Combs, the hip-hop mogul known as Diddy, who was acquitted of the most serious charges against him earlier this month.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
