Latest news with #ErezReuveni
New York Times
9 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Times
A D.O.J. Whistleblower Speaks Out
Hosted by Rachel Abrams Produced by Rob Szypko and Anna Foley With Sydney Harper Edited by Rachel Quester and Paige Cowett Original music by Dan PowellPat McCusker and Diane Wong Engineered by Chris Wood Warning: This episode contains strong language. An explosive whistle-blower report claims that the Justice Department is asking government lawyers to lie to the courts, and that this has forced career officials to chose between upholding the Constitution and pledging loyalty to the president. Rachel Abrams speaks to the whistle-blower about his career in the Justice Department and his complaint saying he was fired for telling the truth. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Erez Reuveni, who filed a whistle-blower complaint against the Department of Justice. Mr. Reuveni has warned of an assault on the law by the Trump administration. At the Justice Department, Emil Bove III suggested violating court orders, according to the complaint. There are a lot of ways to listen to 'The Daily.' Here's how. We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode's publication. You can find them at the top of the page. Fact-checking by Caitlin Love. Special thanks to Devlin Barrett and Margaret W. Ho. The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Michael Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, Nina Feldman, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Sophia Lanman, Shannon M. Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez, Brendan Klinkenberg, Chris Haxel, Maria Byrne, Anna Foley and Caitlin O'Keefe. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson, Nina Lassam, Nick Pitman and Kathleen O'Brien.
CNN
15-07-2025
- Politics
- CNN
More than 75 former judges urge Senate committee to reject Trump judicial nominee Emil Bove
More than 75 former federal and state judges on Tuesday called on the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject the nomination of Emil Bove, President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, to a prestigious appeals-court judgeship. 'Mr. Bove's egregious record of mistreating law enforcement officers, abusing power, and disregarding the law itself disqualifies him for this position,' the group wrote, pointing to a series of controversies Bove has been at the center of over the past six months while serving as a high-ranking Justice Department official. Those include investigating FBI and DOJ officials who worked on cases related to the January 6, 2021, insurrection and dropping federal charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The letter also noted allegations that Bove 'explicitly plotted to violate court orders and direct law enforcement officers to engage in illegal acts' in an effort to further Trump's deportation agenda, referring to a whistleblower report from a former Justice Department attorney. 'That whistleblower, Erez Reuveni, has provided members of this committee with compelling evidence and volunteered to testify under oath,' the letter continued. 'The Senate has a duty to hear that testimony.' Bove, who would serve a lifetime appointment on the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals if confirmed by the Senate, repeatedly denied several accusations of corruption during his confirmation hearing last month before the Judiciary committee. 'I am not anybody's henchman,' Bove told the panel on June 25. 'I'm not an enforcer. I'm a lawyer from a small town, who never expected to be in an arena like this.' Several retired federal appeals court judges who were nominated by Republican presidents have signed on to the letter, including J. Michael Luttig, a Trump critic and a prominent conservative legal scholar put on the bench by President George H.W. Bush. Luttig endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris last year. Bove is set to receive a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation vote on Thursday. GOP Sen. Thom Tillis, a GOP swing vote, told CNN on Monday he is inclined to support Bove's nomination even though the nominee did not denounce violence on January 6 in a questionnaire obtained by CNN, a red line the retiring senator had drawn. The senator from North Carolina previously told CNN's Jake Tapper that he would not support any nominees who expressed support for the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. It was the reason Tillis would not support the nomination of Trump's former DC US Attorney nominee, Ed Martin, opposition which effectively derailed the nomination. The judges' letter also argues that it is 'deeply inappropriate' for a president to nominate their own former criminal defense attorney to serve on the federal bench. Bove's nomination marks the first time Trump has nominated one of his former lawyers for a federal judgeship. The group noted that those signees who served on the federal judiciary and went through Senate confirmation 'know how critical it is for the functioning of our justice system that Senators rigorously vet nominees for lifetime federal judicial appointments that affect countless lives.' Elevating Bove, the judges wrote, 'would not only compromise the integrity of the courts, it would set a dangerous precedent that judicial power may be wielded in service of personal fealty rather than constitutional duty.' If confirmed, Bove would be one of roughly a dozen judges with the power to review federal cases being appealed in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and the Virgin Islands. Bove, who spent a decade working as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, joined Trump's legal team in 2023. He worked on three of Trump's criminal cases over the span of roughly 18 months and became interim deputy attorney general soon after Trump took office in January. He quickly moved to align the department with Trump's vision, clashing with career officials in the process. Some of the department's more controversial moves, largely executed by Bove himself, resulted in mass resignations and firings within the department. CNN's Annie Grayer, Manu Raju, Paula Reid, Casey Gannon and Holmes Lybrand contributed to this report.
CNN
15-07-2025
- Politics
- CNN
More than 75 former judges urge Senate committee to reject Trump judicial nominee Emil Bove
More than 75 former federal and state judges on Tuesday called on the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject the nomination of Emil Bove, President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, to a prestigious appeals-court judgeship. 'Mr. Bove's egregious record of mistreating law enforcement officers, abusing power, and disregarding the law itself disqualifies him for this position,' the group wrote, pointing to a series of controversies Bove has been at the center of over the past six months while serving as a high-ranking Justice Department official. Those include investigating FBI and DOJ officials who worked on cases related to the January 6, 2021, insurrection and dropping federal charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The letter also noted allegations that Bove 'explicitly plotted to violate court orders and direct law enforcement officers to engage in illegal acts' in an effort to further Trump's deportation agenda, referring to a whistleblower report from a former Justice Department attorney. 'That whistleblower, Erez Reuveni, has provided members of this committee with compelling evidence and volunteered to testify under oath,' the letter continued. 'The Senate has a duty to hear that testimony.' Bove, who would serve a lifetime appointment on the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals if confirmed by the Senate, repeatedly denied several accusations of corruption during his confirmation hearing last month before the Judiciary committee. 'I am not anybody's henchman,' Bove told the panel on June 25. 'I'm not an enforcer. I'm a lawyer from a small town, who never expected to be in an arena like this.' Several retired federal appeals court judges who were nominated by Republican presidents have signed on to the letter, including J. Michael Luttig, a Trump critic and a prominent conservative legal scholar put on the bench by President George H.W. Bush. Luttig endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris last year. Bove is set to receive a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation vote on Thursday. GOP Sen. Thom Tillis, a GOP swing vote, told CNN on Monday he is inclined to support Bove's nomination even though the nominee did not denounce violence on January 6 in a questionnaire obtained by CNN, a red line the retiring senator had drawn. The senator from North Carolina previously told CNN's Jake Tapper that he would not support any nominees who expressed support for the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. It was the reason Tillis would not support the nomination of Trump's former DC US Attorney nominee, Ed Martin, opposition which effectively derailed the nomination. The judges' letter also argues that it is 'deeply inappropriate' for a president to nominate their own former criminal defense attorney to serve on the federal bench. Bove's nomination marks the first time Trump has nominated one of his former lawyers for a federal judgeship. The group noted that those signees who served on the federal judiciary and went through Senate confirmation 'know how critical it is for the functioning of our justice system that Senators rigorously vet nominees for lifetime federal judicial appointments that affect countless lives.' Elevating Bove, the judges wrote, 'would not only compromise the integrity of the courts, it would set a dangerous precedent that judicial power may be wielded in service of personal fealty rather than constitutional duty.' If confirmed, Bove would be one of roughly a dozen judges with the power to review federal cases being appealed in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and the Virgin Islands. Bove, who spent a decade working as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, joined Trump's legal team in 2023. He worked on three of Trump's criminal cases over the span of roughly 18 months and became interim deputy attorney general soon after Trump took office in January. He quickly moved to align the department with Trump's vision, clashing with career officials in the process. Some of the department's more controversial moves, largely executed by Bove himself, resulted in mass resignations and firings within the department. CNN's Annie Grayer, Manu Raju, Paula Reid, Casey Gannon and Holmes Lybrand contributed to this report.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump DOJ Lackey Told Underlings to Say ‘F*** You' to Court Orders
A top Justice Department official left a room full of government lawyers stunned when he said that they might have to say 'f--- you' to court orders blocking deportations, according to a whistleblower. Emil Bove, previously a personal attorney for Trump, unveiled his intention to defy the courts during a closed-door meeting in mid-March, a fired former DOJ attorney wrote in a disclosure obtained by The New York Times. During the meeting, Bove revealed that the administration planned to speedily fly a group of undocumented immigrants out of the country that weekend using an arcane 200-year-old law. When it came to the prospect of a court order against the action, he did not mince words. 'Bove stated that DOJ would need to consider telling the courts 'f--k you' and ignore any such order,' according to ousted DOJ lawyer Erez Reuveni's account. After the remark, Reuveni 'perceived that others in the room looked stunned, and he observed awkward, nervous glances among people in the room. Silence overtook the room.' Reuveni, who was a 14-year veteran of the DOJ's immigration office, left the meeting in a state of 'disbelief,' his account said. Reuveni was fired in April after he admitted in court that deported Maryland man Kilmar Abrego Garcia 'should not have been sent to El Salvador.' He claims that he 'was thwarted, threatened, fired and publicly disparaged for both doing his job and telling the truth to the court.' Reuveni's lawyers sent his account to Congress on Tuesday—a day before Bove, whom Trump has nominated to be a federal appeals judge, is set to testify before the Senate. The disclosure describes several instances of misconduct by the Justice Department, which Reuveni says tried to ignore court orders 'through lack of candor, deliberate delay and disinformation.' Asked for comment, the Justice Department directed the Daily Beast to an X post made by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. 'The New York Times article describes falsehoods purportedly made by a disgruntled former employee and then leaked to the press in violation of ethical obligations,' he said. Blanche also ripped the Times for publishing the story. 'This is disgusting journalism,' he said. 'Planting a false hit piece the day before a confirmation hearing is something we have come to expect from the media, but it does not mean it should be tolerated.' On March 15, a day after Bove reportedly floated defying the courts, the Trump administration shipped about 140 Venezuelan migrants from the U.S. to a megaprison in El Salvador, ignoring a federal judge's emergency order that they turn the two planes around. Since then, Trump and the Justice Department have fought a bitter battle with Judge James Boasberg over whether they defied the order. The judge threatened to hold top Trump officials in contempt, while the president has called Boasberg a 'radical left lunatic.' Behind the scenes, Trump-loyal DOJ officials thwarted Boasberg by lying, distorting facts, and making arguments with no legal basis, Reuveni claims. Reuveni recalled that one of his bosses, Trump-appointee Drew Ensign, lied to Boasberg's face when asked if any deportations were imminent in the next two days. 'I don't know the answer to that question,' Ensign responded—even though Reuveni says he was in the meeting where Bove mentioned the impending deportations. On March 17, Reuveni says he was told that DOJ leadership had decided that 'the government was not going to answer the court's questions about anything that happened before 7:26 p.m. on March 15, and so not to provide information about when the flights took off.' Reuveni, who had serious legal and ethical concerns about the tactics, increasingly fell into conflict with his bosses, who offered few answers to his questions. The breaking point came when Reuveni was assigned to make arguments on the governments behalf in the case of Abrego Garcia, whom the Trump administration refused to return from the El Salvador prison despite a court order telling them to do so. After Reuveni acknowledged in court that Abrego Garcia should not have been deported, one of his bosses, Drew Ensign, asked him why he did not argue that Abrego Garcia was a terrorist. Reuveni pushed back that he had not found evidence to support the terrorism claim and that it did not nullify Abrego Garcia's right to due process. As he was pushed to sign a brief with the terrorism claim, Reuveni refused, saying, 'I didn't sign up to lie,' according to his disclosure. He was fired soon after.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bondi Hit by High-Level Whistleblower Amid Epstein Backlash
Attorney General Pam Bondi scrambled Thursday to discredit a Justice Department whistleblower accusing DOJ leadership of planning to ignore court orders, piling more pressure on her leadership amid an intense backlash to her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. 'We support legitimate whistleblowers, but this disgruntled employee is not a whistleblower—he's a leaker asserting false claims seeking five minutes of fame,' Bondi fumed on X. Erez Reuveni, a former justice department attorney, filed a complaint to the Senate last month alleging that senior DOJ official and federal judge nominee Emil Bove suggested in a March 14 meeting that DOJ staff should say 'f--- you' to courts and defy any order blocking migrant deportation flights from taking off to the CECOT megaprison in El Salvador the next day. The DOJ fired Reuveni on April 11, after he admitted in court that officials mistakenly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia on one of those flights. On Thursday, the whistleblower submitted new evidence to the Senate, including internal DOJ messages that appear to support his claim that Bove said the DOJ might have to ignore court rulings. Bondi launched a fierce defense of Bove, who has denied the allegation, in her X post. 'No one was ever asked to defy a court order,' she wrote. 'This is another instance of misinformation being spread to serve a narrative that does not align with the facts.' Forced to walk back her February claim that a client list was 'sitting' on her desk, she was ridiculed online by frustrated Trump supporters—many of whom had hoped his return to office would finally expose secrets about powerful elites. In his first public interview since coming forward, Reuveni told The New York Times that the Trump administration displayed a troubling disregard for the law. 'If they can do this sort of thing to Abrego Garcia, to 238 people that nobody knows, and send them to CECOT forever with no due process, they can do that to anyone,' said Reuveni, who worked at the agency for more than 14 years before his firing. 'It should be deeply, deeply worrisome to anyone who cares about their safety and their liberty, that the government can, without showing evidence to anyone of anything, spirit you away on a plane to wherever, forever.' He accused the DOJ of 'thumbing its nose at the courts, and putting Justice Department attorneys in an impossible position where they have to choose between loyalty to the agenda of the president and their duty to the court.' Bove's nomination to serve as a judge on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals is likely to advance after a key swing vote on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Thom Thillis (R-NC), said he will 'probably' support him, according to Politico.
