Latest news with #Reuveni
The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
What whistleblowers said about incoming Trump judge Emil Bove
Bove is now set to be sworn in to his new role on the Philadelphia-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which handles federal appeals for Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Bove, a former personal criminal defense lawyer for Trump, overcame multiple accusations from whistleblowers that he had suggested the Trump administration defy court orders if necessary and misled Congress while serving as a top official within Trump's Justice Department. Bove will now shift from that prosecutorial role to the appeals court. Bove defended his integrity at his Senate confirmation hearing, saying he has honored his oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution and has a "deep respect for the rule of law." Here's what whistleblowers said ahead of Bove's confirmation: Whistleblower accusation #1: Ignoring court orders? Shortly before the Senate Judiciary Committee considered Bove's nomination June 25, a whistleblower - former Justice Department prosecutor Erez Reuveni - alleged that Bove advocated at a March 14 meeting for the department to ignore court orders if necessary to make sure deportation flights took off. "Bove stated that DOJ would need to consider telling the courts 'f--- you' and ignore any such court order," according to Reuveni's June 24 whistleblower disclosure. At his confirmation hearing, Bove said he "did not suggest that there would be any need to consider ignoring court orders," adding that there were no court orders in place at the time of the meeting. Bove said he couldn't remember if he instructed his subordinates to say "f--- you" to courts in some manner, but that he has "certainly said things encouraging litigators at the department to fight hard for valid positions." Reuveni was fired in April, after he raised concerns to his chain of command "for nearly three weeks regarding the government's compliance with court orders and candor to the courts," according to the disclosure. While Democrats sounded the alarm, Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, said June 25 that Reuveni's allegations weren't a cause for concern. "Even if we accept most of the claims as true, there's no scandal here," Grassley said. "Government lawyers aggressively litigating and interpreting court orders isn't misconduct. It's what lawyers do all the time." Another whistleblower later came forward to corroborate claims from Reuveni. The person, whose identity has remained shielded, provided internal Justice Department documents supporting Reuveni's allegations, according to Whistleblower Aid, a nonprofit that represents the whistleblower. Whistleblower accusation #2: Misleading Congress on Eric Adams case? Another whistleblower, whose identity hasn't been publicly disclosed, came forward to allege Bove misled Congress during his Senate confirmation, according to reports from the Washington Post and CNN. The testimony concerned the circumstances behind the Justice Department dropping its criminal bribery case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Bove directed prosecutors to drop the case after Trump took office, saying the prosecution was restricting Adams' ability to focus on illegal immigration and violent crime. At his confirmation hearing, Bove denied allegations that he negotiated a "quid pro quo" - meaning an exchange of favors - with Adams' lawyers, under which the Justice Department would drop the charges. Bove also denied instructing a lawyer to stop taking notes when Adams' lawyers allegedly urged a quid-pro-quo deal, although Bove said at some point he did remark on a lawyer taking extensive notes. Several Justice Department prosecutors resigned rather than follow Bove's orders to drop the Adams case, which has nonetheless been dismissed. The Justice Department didn't immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment about whether Bove misled Congress. Gates McGavick, a department spokesperson, responded in the Washington Post's July 28 story that Bove has done "incredible work at the Department of Justice" and was going to be "an excellent judge." Justice Connection, an organization composed of Justice Department alumni concerned that their former colleagues are under attack in the Trump administration, put out a statement that was short on specifics, but said the whistleblower "has strong evidence that Emil Bove was not truthful" during his confirmation hearing. The whistleblower tried to share the information with Republican senators for weeks, according to the statement. Contributing: Erin Mansfield and Bart Jansen - USA TODAY; Reuters
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Ex-Trump lawyer Emil Bove confirmed to federal appeals court by US Senate
The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Emil Bove, a top justice department official and former defense attorney for Donald Trump, to a lifetime seat on a federal appeals court, despite claims by whistleblowers that he advocated for ignoring court orders. The vote broke nearly along party lines, with 50 Republican senators voting for his confirmation to a seat on the third circuit court of appeals overseeing New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and the US Virgin Islands. All Democrats opposed his nomination along with Republican senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski. Tennessee senator Bill Hagerty missed the vote. Bove's nomination for the lifetime position has faced strident opposition from Democrats, after Erez Reuveni, a former justice department official who was fired from his post, alleged that during his time at the justice department, Bove told lawyers that they 'would need to consider telling the courts 'fuck you' and ignore any such court order' blocking efforts to remove immigrants to El Salvador. In testimony before the committee last month, Bove denied the accusation, and Reuveni later provided text messages that supported his claim. Last week, another former justice department lawyer provided evidence to its inspector general corroborating Reuveni's claim, according to Whistleblower Aid, a non-profit representing the person, who opted to remain anonymous. On Tuesday, the Washington Post reported that a third whistleblower alleged Bove misled Congress about his role in the dropping of corruption charges against New York City mayor Eric Adams. Seven veteran prosecutors resigned rather than follow orders to end the prosecution, which Democrats allege was done to secure Adams's cooperation with Trump's immigration policies. 'Like other individuals President Trump has installed in the highest positions of our government during his second term, Mr Bove's primary qualification appears to be his blind loyalty to this president,' Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate judiciary committee, said in a speech before the vote. The senator said he was trying to get a copy of the complaint made by the anonymous whistleblower who corroborates Reuveni's allegations, and accused the GOP of pushing Bove's nomination forward without fully investigating his conduct. 'It appears my Republican colleagues fear the answers. That is the only reason I can see for their insistence on forcing this nomination through at breakneck speed before all the facts are public,' Durbin said. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion In addition to the whistleblower complaint, Democrats have criticized Bove for his role, while serving as acting justice department deputy attorney general, in the firings of prosecutors who worked on cases connected to the January 6 insurrection, as well as for requesting a list of FBI agents who investigated the attack. During his June confirmation hearing, Bove denied suggesting justice department lawyers defy court orders, or that political considerations played a role in dropping the charges against Adams. 'I am not anybody's henchman,' he told the committee. Democrats walked out of the committee earlier this month when its Republican majority voted to advance his nomination, despite their pleas that the whistleblower complaints be further explored.
NBC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- NBC News
Republicans confirm former Trump lawyer Emil Bove to lifetime appeals court perch
WASHINGTON — The Republican-led Senate voted Tuesday to confirm Emil Bove as a judge on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, granting a lifetime appointment to President Donald Trump 's former personal lawyer. He was confirmed 50-49, with only Republican votes, as they set aside allegations from three whistleblowers about the conduct of Bove, a Justice Department official, which include accusations that he flouted laws and Justice Department procedures. Just two Republicans voted with Democrats against the nomination: Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Susan Collins, R-Maine. Hours before the vote, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, dismissed the complaints raised by the third whistleblower as 'another breathless accusation,' saying Bove denied the allegations against him under oath. 'I support the nomination of Mr. Bove. He has a strong legal background and has served this country honorably. I believe he will be diligent, capable and a fair jurist,' Grassley said. Grassley accused Democrats of using 'vicious rhetoric, unfair accusation and abuse directed at Mr. Bove,' saying their tactics to thwart the nomination 'crossed the line.' Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., slammed Bove as being 'as far from the mainstream as any judicial nominee we have considered in this chamber.' 'He is a Trumpian henchman — the extreme of the extreme of the extreme. He is openly hostile to the rule of law. He is fundamentally opposed to democratic norms. He lacks the temperament to serve as a jurist,' Schumer recently said on the Senate floor. 'And above all, Mr. Bove is religiously obedient to Donald Trump.' 'Shame on you,' Schumer said to Republicans after the vote. 'This is a dark, dark day.' An initial Justice Department whistleblower, Erez Reuveni, told Congress via his lawyers that Bove told subordinates that they might have to ignore court orders blocking Trump's deportation efforts, comments that concerned Reuveni. It allegedly occurred the day before the administration carried out deportations under the Alien Enemies Act. That allegation, which was echoed by a second whistleblower, relayed a meeting on March 14 where Bove warned that their planned deportations could be blocked by a court order, with Reuveni's attorneys writing in the disclosure that 'Bove stated that DOJ would need to consider telling the courts 'f--- you' and ignore any such court order.' The allegations made by Reuveni were critical for Murkowski. 'I don't think that somebody who has counseled other attorneys that you should ignore the law, you should reject the law — I don't think that that individual should be placed in a lifetime seat on the bench,' Murkowski told NBC News. A third whistleblower, who approached senators with a separate allegation against Bove more recently had provided evidence suggesting Bove misled senators during his confirmation hearing, when discussing his handling of the Justice Department's dismissal of the case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News. The details of how Bove specifically misled senators have not been publicly disclosed, and the connection to Adams' case was first reported by The Washington Post. Grassley's staff met with attorneys for the third whistleblower, but the chairman said the allegations against Bove would not delay his confirmation vote. Skepticism for Bove cuts across ideological lines. The conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board warned that Bove's 'reputation lately is as a smashmouth partisan who wields the law as a weapon.' Ahead of the vote, Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., wrote a letter asking the DOJ's acting inspector general whether it is conducting an investigation into Bove. 'As the Senate approaches a final vote this week on Mr. Bove's nomination to serve as United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit, it is imperative that Senators exercise their constitutional duty of advice and consent with full knowledge of Mr. Bove's actions,' Schiff and Booker wrote. 'We therefore request that you clarify for Senators whether your office is undertaking any investigations of or related to Mr. Bove. In the event these whistleblower complaints and other reports have not already prompted investigations by your office, we urge you to undertake a thorough review of these disclosures and allegations,' they added. Earlier on Tuesday, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he had been approached by whistleblowers who have submitted complaints regarding Bove's nomination, adding that he would be 'conferring with Chair Grassley' and planned to 'follow his lead.' Tillis, who is retiring from Congress, has been considered a gettable vote for Democrats on some Trump nominees. He said he was frustrated with the late disclosure of the third whistleblower's claims, comparing it to the late allegations that came out against Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his 2018 confirmation battle to be on the Supreme Court.
The Hill
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Second whistleblower backs allegations Bove was ‘undermining rule of law'
A second whistleblower has stepped forward with allegations that Trump Justice Department official Emil Bove worked to defy court orders. Bove, the No. 3 official at DOJ, has been nominated for a lifetime appointment to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and is awaiting a final vote in the Senate. He's also been accused by DOJ whistleblower Erez Reuveni of suggesting the department's attorneys may need to tell the courts 'f—k you' and defy any orders blocking the use of the Alien Enemies Act to send migrants to a prison in El Salvador. A second whistleblower has now stepped forward to back Reuveni's claims, saying Bove and other senior DOJ officials were 'actively and deliberately undermining the rule of law.' 'Our client, whose identity we are protecting, has provided substantive, internal DOJ documents to the Inspector General, supporting former senior DOJ attorney-turned whistleblower Erez Reuveni's allegations,' Whistleblower Aid, the group representing the second whistleblower, said in a press release. 'Reuveni's whistleblower complaint exposes 'high-level governmental personnel [at the DOJ who] knowingly and willfully defied court orders, directed their subordinate attorneys to make misrepresentations to courts, and engaged in a scheme to withhold relevant information from the court to advance the Administration's priority of deporting noncitizens.'' The Trump administration's decision to send Venezuelan migrants to a notorious prison in El Salvador is under the review of U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg, who initially blocked the plan and ordered all flights to be halted or turned around. Instead, the flights took off, bringing some 200 Venezuelan migrants to the facility. They were recently released back to the South American country. Boasberg previously found probable cause to hold the Trump administration in criminal contempt for willfully disobeying his order to immediately halt deportations. A vote on Bove could come as soon as Tuesday. Democrats called for a hearing with Reuveni before Bove advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee but were denied by the panel's Republicans. 'Reporting suggests a second whistleblower is coming forward further corroborating Erez Reuveni's already-credible allegations of misconduct by Emil Bove—including his 'f— you' approach to the courts. If true, this is another damning indictment of a man who should never be a federal judge—and Senate Republicans will bear full responsibility for the consequences if they rubber stamp Mr. Bove's nomination,' a spokesman for Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the top Democrat on the committee, said in a statement. The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment. The whistleblower's attorney also did not respond to an inquiry from The Hill. Reporting from CNN indicates the whistleblower is a former attorney in DOJ's Office of Immigration Litigation, who worked with Reuveni. Reuveni was fired after telling a judge in a related case that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported in error. During his confirmation hearing, Bove sidestepped questions about whether he used the expletive. 'I've certainly said things encouraging litigators at the department to fight hard for valid positions that we have to take,' Bove said when asked about the episode. 'I certainly conveyed the importance of the upcoming operation,' he added about the Alien Enemies Act flights. The whistleblower has filed a claim with DOJ's Office of Inspector General, and a Friday statement from attorney Andrew Bakaj indicates they have information about broader efforts to defy court orders. 'What we're seeing here is something I never thought would be possible on such a wide scale: federal prosecutors appointed by the Trump Administration intentionally presenting dubious if not outright false evidence to a court of jurisdiction in cases that impact a person's fundamental rights not only under our Constitution, but their natural rights as humans,' Bakaj said. 'What this means is that federal career attorneys who swore an oath to uphold the Constitution are now being pressured to abdicate that promise in favor of fealty to a single person, specifically Donald Trump. Loyalty to one individual must never outweigh supporting and protecting the fundamental rights of those living in the United States.'
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DoJ whistleblower provides emails backing claim Emil Bove defied courts over deportations
Erez Reuveni, a former justice department attorney who was dismissed from his post, has provided text messages to the Senate judiciary committee supporting his whistleblower complaint involving Emil Bove, a top department official who is currently being considered for a seat on the federal bench. Reuveni's initial complaint, filed last month, included the explosive allegation that Bove had told justice department lawyers that they 'would need to consider telling the courts 'fuck you' and ignore any such court order' blocking efforts to remove immigrants to El Salvador. Related: DoJ leader suggested defying courts over deportations, whistleblower says The text messages Reuveni provided to the Senate judiciary committee include Reuveni and his boss, August Flentje, referencing Bove's comments, according to Bloomberg Law. 'Guess we are about to say fuck you to the court' – 'Super,' Reuveni texted a colleague, according to Bloomberg. The colleague replied: 'Well Pamela Jo Bondi is' and 'Not you.' A former New York City-based federal prosecutor, Bove was hired by Donald Trump to defend him against the four state and federal indictments he faced before winning re-election last year. He then appointed Bove as acting justice department deputy attorney general in his first weeks back in the White House, during which time Bove fired prosecutors who brought charges against January 6 rioters and requested a list of FBI agents who worked on the cases. During a hearing before the Senate judiciary committee last month, Bove denied that he had ever instructed justice department attorneys to defy a court order. 'I have never advised a Department of Justice attorney to violate a court order,' he said. But the messages released by Reuveni suggest that justice department lawyers were, at the very least, aware of the possibility they might have to ignore judicial orders. One of the newly disclosed emails shows that Bove gave the OK to deplane flights on foreign soil that were carrying immigration detainees from the US, despite an order from US district judge James Boasberg to turn the planes around. According to the email, Bove gave the legal advice that it was OK to deplane the detainees because the planes had left US airspace before Boasberg's written order had been filed on the court docket. Before issuing his written order, Boasberg had issued an oral order from the bench. 'At this point why don't we just submit an emoji of a middle finger as our filing,' Reuveni wrote in one 19 March message. 'A picayune middle finger.' 'So stupid,' his boss wrote back. The messages provide an unusual and remarkable level of insight into how justice department lawyers knew they were defying court orders. Pam Bondi, the US attorney general, responded to the issue on X on Thursday. 'We support legitimate whistleblowers, but this disgruntled employee is not a whistleblower – he's a leaker asserting false claims seeking five minutes of fame, conveniently timed just before a confirmation hearing and a committee vote,' she wrote. 'As Mr Bove testified and as the Department has made clear, there was no court order to defy, as we successfully argued to the DC Circuit when seeking a stay, when they stayed Judge Boasberg's lawless order. And no one was ever asked to defy a court order. 'This is another instance of misinformation being spread to serve a narrative that does not align with the facts. This 'whistleblower' signed 3 briefs defending DOJ's position in this matter and his subsequent revisionist account arose only after he was fired because he violated his ethical duties to the department.' Chris Stein contributed reporting The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know. If you have something to share on this subject you can contact us confidentially using the following methods. Secure Messaging in the Guardian app The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said. If you don't already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS/Android) and go to the menu. Select 'Secure Messaging'. SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and post See our guide at for alternative methods and the pros and cons of each.
