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Trump judicial nominee Bove says he never advised defying courts
"I am not anybody's henchman," Bove told the Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee.
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Reuters - Wed, 25, Jun 2025
- 16:20 EDT
- 9
FILE PHOTO: Emil Bove, attorney for former US President Donald Trump, attends at Manhattan criminal court in New York, US, on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. JEENAH MOON / Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
U.S. Justice Department official Emil Bove denied advising President Donald Trump's administration to defy court orders as he faced Democratic criticism on June 25 over his nomination by Trump to serve on a federal appeals court.
Bove at a Senate committee hearing disputed claims by a former Justice Department lawyer that he suggested to subordinates the government may flout court rulings against Trump's immigration crackdown.
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"I am not anybody's henchman," Bove told the Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee. "I'm not an enforcer. I'm a lawyer from a small town who never expected to be in an arena like this."
Trump last month nominated Bove, formerly one of his personal lawyers, to serve as a life-tenured judge on the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, citing his experience as a terrorism prosecutor and work to end the "weaponization" of the legal system against Trump and his supporters.
While committee Republicans largely praised Bove, he faced sharp questioning from one, Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, who pressed him to affirm that his decision to drop a corruption case against New York Mayor Eric Adams was not part of a "political deal."
Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate majority, meaning that Bove could be confirmed with only Republican support.
Democrats portrayed Bove as a vindictive Trump loyalist, highlighting prior complaints about his temperament and episodes during his Justice Department tenure that they said called into question his commitment to even-handed justice.
Trump "is looking for loyalty. He is looking for fierce retribution. He is looking for someone who will instill fear in his opponents," said Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, the committee's top Democrat. "It seems he has found such a nominee in Mr. Bove."
IMMIGRATION AGENDA
A whistleblower complaint made public on June 24 from a former Justice Department official, Erez Reuveni, alleged that Bove suggested to colleagues in March, in profane terms, that the government may disregard court orders blocking Trump from using emergency powers to deport migrants.
Bove said he had "no recollection of saying anything of that kind in the meeting." He acknowledged that he "conveyed the importance" of the administration's plans to deport Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador under a wartime powers law, which a federal judge later deemed unlawful.
Senator Chuck Grassley, the Republican committee chair, called the whistleblower report a "coordinated political strike" and praised Bove's experience as a federal prosecutor in New York.
Bove defended Trump in three criminal cases he faced while out of office, including at a New York trial that led to Trump’s conviction on charges he falsified records to pay hush money to a porn star.
Trump allies have prized loyalty in addition to conservative legal credentials in picking federal judges, as they seek to further reshape a federal judiciary that has blocked or slowed many Trump administration policies.
Trump has so far announced 12 judicial nominees in his second term, including Bove. If confirmed, they would add to the 234 judicial appointments he made in his first term.
Bove, now the principal deputy assistant attorney general, also faced questions about his demand for the FBI to turn over a list of agents who worked on investigations into the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol and his order to dismiss the case against Adams, a Democrat who cultivated ties to Trump.
Bove cited Adams’ upcoming reelection campaign and his need to assist with Trump’s immigration agenda, a justification that prompted 11 prosecutors in Washington and New York to resign rather than fulfill the order.
Bove denied any deal with Adams and argued that his order was appropriate for "policy reasons."
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