'Fear is the tool of a tyrant': Fired US federal prosecutor Maurene Comey tells colleagues
'If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain,' Comey said in the note, which was obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday. 'Do not let that happen. Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought."
'Instead of fear,' she added, '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.'
Until her firing Wednesday, Comey had been a veteran lawyer in the Southern District of New York, long considered the most elite of the Justice Department's prosecution offices. Her cases included the sex trafficking prosecution of Epstein, who killed himself behind bars in 2019 as he was awaiting trial, and the recent case against Combs, which ended earlier this month with a mixed verdict.
Her termination represented the latest Justice Department effort to fire lawyers without explanation, a trend that has raised alarm over a disregard for civil service protections designed to remove attorneys for political reasons. The department has also fired a number of prosecutors who worked on cases that have provoked Donald Trump's ire, including some who handled US Capitol riot cases and lawyers and support staff who worked on special counsel Jack Smith's prosecutions of the Republican president.
She was long seen as a potential target given her father's fraught relationship over the last decade with Trump. The Justice Department recently appeared to acknowledge the existence of an investigation into James Comey, though the basis for that inquiry is unclear.
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