Emil Bove, nominated by President Donald Trump to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, forcefully denied allegations Wednesday that he urged Justice Department lawyers to ignore court orders to facilitate deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, calling the claims “wildly inaccurate.”
“No, I have never advised a Department of Justice attorney to violate a court order,” Bove testified during his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing. “I will reiterate … I did not advise any Justice Department attorney to violate court orders. The Deputy Attorney General [Todd Blanche] … has confirmed that the account in that whistleblower complaint is not accurate.”
Bove’s hearing came one day after Erez Reuveni, a former DOJ career attorney, submitted a 27-page whistleblower complaint accusing senior officials of planning to defy federal court orders related to March deportation flights targeting Venezuelan illegal immigrants. According to Reuveni’s account, Bove allegedly told subordinates in a March 14 meeting that “the planes needed to take off no matter what,” even if a court tried to block them. Reuveni claimed Bove said DOJ should consider telling courts “f*** you.”
Bove, speaking under oath, pushed back on the narrative, saying that even the whistleblower acknowledged the department intended to follow court orders.
“Even if that account is taken at face value,” Bove said, “the whistleblower acknowledges that he left the meeting … with the understanding that, of...
CNN — On Friday, before signing his massive domestic policy bill, President Donald Trump proclaimed at the White House that “it’s the most popular bill ever signed in the history of our country,” ...