CNN —
President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, Emil Bove, was pushed to repeatedly deny several accusations of corruption – one made by a whistleblower at the Justice Department – during his confirmation hearing Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“I am not anybody’s henchman,” Bove said. “I’m not an enforcer. I’m a lawyer from a small town, who never expected to be in an arena like this.”
Trump has nominated several of his personal attorneys to top legal posts in his administration, but his nomination of Bove to the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals marks the first time he has selected one of his lawyers to serve on the federal bench.
For the past six months, Bove has served as a high-ranking official in the Justice Department. In that short time, he has proven himself to be a reliable ally for the president and also been embroiled in a series of major controversies – including dropping federal charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams; investigating officials who worked on cases related to January 6, 2021; and pursuing Trump’s deportation goals in ways that prompted a whistleblower to allege Bove intended to ignore court orders and mislead federal judges.
Bove testified on Wednesday that the decision to drop charges against Adams was based on a “substantiated” concern “on the weaponization of the criminal justice system” in the case, though he did not elaborate.
He also cited concerns “about the effect” of the prosecution on Adams’ ability to...
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