A day after she was fired from her job as a U.S. lawyer, Maurene Comey — the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey — urged her colleagues to not let worry of retribution “seep into” their selections and to combat again towards “abuses of power.”
“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,” she wrote in a memo Thursday to her colleagues.
Comey was fired by the Justice Division on Wednesday. She was a key determine in excessive profile circumstances such because the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs and the prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Epstein, the financier and convicted intercourse offender who died in jail, has been the topic of conspiracy theories which have change into a serious supply of rivalry between President Donald Trump and a few of his supporters.
Comey mentioned she was not given a cause and that her termination was carried out by way of a memo.
In her memo, Comey talked about how “fear was never really conceivable” throughout her almost 10-year tenure for the Southern District of New York.
“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,” she wrote. “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.”
However, Comey mentioned, they’re now in 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,” the memo learn. “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.”
Her father, James Comey, has for years been in a public feud with Trump. James Comey was one of many key figures in launching a probe of Russia’s involvement within the 2016 presidential election.
Throughout his first time period as president, Trump fired James Comey, and earlier this month, his administration launched a felony investigation concentrating on him and former CIA Director John Brennan. The main points of the investigation stay unclear.
When requested at a press briefing Thursday concerning the firing, the White Home mentioned, “This was a decision made by the Department of Justice.”
Lisa Rubin contributed.
