A federal district court ruled on October 26, 2026 that the firing of Maureen Comey, a career prosecutor who worked on the Ghislaine Maxwell case, was unlawful, ordering her reinstated with back pay. Judge Jesse Furman found the termination violated the separation of powers, federal administrative law and Comey's due process rights, and later held it also violated the Civil Service Reform Act and her First and Fifth Amendment rights. Back pay runs to December of last year, and Furman has threatened contempt against anyone who bars Comey from returning. The discussion centers on the ruling as a check on the administration's unitary executive theory.