A top Justice Department official nominated to become a federal appeals court judge said on June 25 that he never told department attorneys to ignore court orders, denying the account of a whistleblower who detailed a campaign to defy judges to carry out President Donald Trump’s deportation plans.
Emil Bove’s nomination for the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has come under intense scrutiny after a fired department lawyer claimed in a complaint filed on June 24 that Bove used an expletive when he said during a meeting that the Trump administration might need to ignore judicial commands.
Bove pushed back against suggestions from Democrats that the whistleblower’s claims make him unfit for the federal bench.
Bove, a former criminal defense attorney for Trump, has been at the forefront of some of the most contentious Justice Department actions since Trump’s return to the White House, including the dismissal of the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
He also accused FBI officials of “insubordination” for refusing to hand over the names of agents who investigated the U.S. Capitol riot and ordered the firings of a group of prosecutors involved in the Jan. 6 criminal cases.
Bove took criticism of his tenure head on, telling lawmakers he understands some of his decisions “have generated controversy.” But Bove said he has been inaccurately portrayed as Trump’s “henchman” and “enforcer” at the department.
A former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of...
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