James Comey has warned of a “grave danger” to public trust in federal law enforcement following the Department of Justice’s firing of his daughter, Maurene Comey, a longtime prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. In a video posted to Substack, the former FBI director voiced concern that the DOJ’s integrity is being compromised under political pressure from the Trump administration.

Maurene Comey, who recently led the prosecution of Sean “Diddy” Combs and previously played a central role in the high-profile cases involving Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, was dismissed last week without a public explanation. The lack of transparency has fueled speculation, especially in light of renewed criticism over how the DOJ handled the Epstein investigation.

Reading a letter his daughter wrote in response to her firing, James Comey stressed the importance of moral courage among public servants. “Trump and the hacks who lead the Department of Justice are hammering at the dam,” he warned. “Good people must stay and do what’s right. You may get fired, but there’s honor in that—and disgrace in failing to stand up.”

Comey, who was appointed FBI director by President Obama in 2013 and fired by Trump in 2017, is once again under public scrutiny as newly declassified documents accuse top Obama-era officials of fabricating intelligence to justify the Trump-Russia probe. These claims reignite controversy over the investigation that dominated Trump’s first term.

Tulsi Gabbard, now serving as Director of National Intelligence, released the documents and issued a criminal referral to the DOJ. She called the situation a “treasonous conspiracy” and insisted that the misuse of intelligence in 2016 was a national integrity issue, not a partisan one.