Emil Bove, a senior official at the Justice Department and nominee for the federal appeals court, testified before the Senate on Wednesday, stating he never instructed department lawyers to disregard court orders, countering claims made by a whistleblower.
Bove, a former criminal defense lawyer who represented President Trump, dismissed accusations from Democratic senators suggesting that the whistleblower’s assertions make him unqualified for the appeals court. His nomination has faced criticism following a complaint by former Justice Department attorney Erez Reuveni, who stated that in a meeting, Bove had expressed that the Trump administration might need to overlook judicial directives.
“I have never told any Justice Department attorney to disregard a court order,” Bove stated during his testimony. He further claimed, “I believe there’s no basis to suggest that the whistleblower’s complaint questions my qualifications to serve as a circuit judge.”
Last month, President Trump nominated Bove for the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which reviews cases from Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Bove, who previously served as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, was part of Trump’s legal team for the hush money trial and defended him in two federal criminal cases initiated by the Justice Department.
The White House has asserted that Bove is “undeniably qualified” for the position, emphasizing his impressive academic and professional history, indicating that this makes him a strong candidate for the Third Circuit.
“The President is dedicated to nominating judges who uphold the Constitution, restore law and order, and eliminate the politicization of the justice system, and Emil Bove is an ideal fit for that vision,” said White House spokesperson Harrison Fields via email.
Reuveni, who worked for the Justice Department for 14 years, was terminated in April after admitting in court that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran living in Maryland, had been wrongfully deported to an El Salvador prison. He sent a letter on Tuesday to Congress members and the Justice Department’s inspector general requesting an investigation into alleged misconduct by Bove and other officials before his termination.
Reuveni recounted a Justice Department meeting in March regarding Trump’s intention to invoke the Alien Enemies Act, referencing a supposed U.S. invasion by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. He claimed that Bove suggested a court may impede deportations and allegedly used profanity to indicate that the department might need to tell the courts what to do and “ignore any such order,” according to his attorneys’ letter.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has labeled these accusations as “completely false.” He attended the meeting in March and stated, “At no point did anyone propose that a court order should be disregarded.”
“Pushing a false narrative the day before a confirmation hearing is something we’re all too familiar with from the media, but such actions should not be accepted,” Blanche said in a post on X on Tuesday.
Bove has played a significant role in other contentious decisions by the Justice Department recently, including the directive to drop the federal corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. This decision led to the resignation of several Justice Department officials, including Manhattan’s chief federal prosecutor, who claimed the department engaged in a quid pro quo by dropping the case to secure Adams’ support for Trump’s immigration policies.
