DOJ Documents Support Allegation That Trump’s Judicial Nominee Encouraged Court Disobedience

On Thursday, Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats unveiled a wealth of papers supporting a whistleblower’s allegation that top DOJ official Emil Bove sarcastically instructed subordinates to disregard court orders. Erez Reuveni, a seasoned DOJ lawyer who claimed to have been sacked earlier this year for refusing to deceive a federal judge and for deterring the Trump administration from participating in unlawful activity, sent the batches of documents to Senate Democrats. In a whistleblower letter to Congress last month, Reuveni said that Bove recommended the department should tell courts to “f*** you” and disregard their directives in order to carry out President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportations.

Reuveni asserted that Bove’s remark came right before Trump was about to use the 18th-century wartime Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to transport hundreds of Americans to CECOT, a megaprison in El Salvador.

Bove was nominated by Trump earlier this year to be a life-tenured judge on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is located in Philadelphia. Although he is now a senior officer in the deputy attorney general’s office, he previously represented Trump in court when he was found guilty of paying a porn star hush money. The materials that were handed to members of Congress contain emails and texts that Reuveni exchanged with his bosses and colleagues at DOJ, as well as with Homeland Security and State Department officials.

 

personnel frequently nod “f*** you” in parts of the talks, seeming concerned that the Trump administration disregarded court orders and that DOJ personnel would face consequences for deceiving federal courts. The text message, which was sent just before the first American flights to El Salvador touched down, reads, “I guess [it’s] find out time on the ‘f*** you”. Another says, “This merely results in a nationwide injunction and a decision point on the f*** you.”

Bove stated at his Senate Judiciary nomination hearing last month that he had never recommended that the DOJ disregard a court order. He claimed to have “no recollection of saying anything of that kind,” but he did not explicitly deny making the “f*** you” remark. “I have undoubtedly expressed encouragement to the department’s litigators to vigorously defend the legitimate stances we must adopt on behalf of our clients,” Bove stated. Politico was initially given access to the documents that were made public on Thursday after the Democrats on the panel asked for them during Bove’s hearing.

Next week, it looks like the Senate Judiciary Committee will move forward with Bove’s appointment. A crucial committee vote, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), stated on Wednesday that he will “probably” back Bove for the position. In a statement released Thursday, Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Sen. Duck Durbin (D-Ill.) declared that Bove “belongs nowhere near the federal bench.” Durbin remarked, “This is about more than a random f-bomb.” “This is a declaration of defiance by a man who now wants a lifetime appointment to one of our nation’s highest courts at the highest level of our government.” “The Senate Judiciary Republicans will be put to the test in this vote,” he continued.