Latest news with #Bove
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump orbit rewarded in year since criminal conviction
It's been one year since President Trump was found guilty on all counts of falsifying business records to keep alleged affairs secret during his 2016 campaign, enshrining him in history as the first former commander in chief to be convicted of a felony. Now back in the White House, his world looks very different — and those who remained by his side have reaped the benefits. Trump's defense attorneys are now serving at the Justice Department's highest levels. His allies who showed up to the trial have been rewarded with Cabinet posts and even the vice presidency. Trump is also continuing to fight his legal woes, with two major appeals court battles set for June. Here's where everything stands one year later. After retaking the White House, many of Trump's personal defense attorneys filled top Justice Department positions. Todd Blanche, Trump's lead counsel at the hush money trial, serves as deputy attorney general. His right-hand man, Emil Bove, now works as Blanche's deputy. The duo has made aggressive moves, including the controversial dismissal of New York City Mayor Eric Adams's (D) corruption case. Bove's tenure at the department may be quickly coming to a close, however. This week, Trump said he was nominating Bove to a judgeship on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. D. John Sauer, who successfully argued Trump's presidential immunity claims before the Supreme Court that stymied several of his criminal cases, now spearheads the administration's efforts at the high court as solicitor general. Sauer's office has brought more than a dozen emergency applications to the justices seeking to lift lower court injunctions blocking Trump's policies. Meanwhile, Harmeet Dhillon, who supported Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election and represented him in a 14th Amendment challenge to his 2024 candidacy, oversees the Justice Department's civil rights division. She has reshaped the division's priorities, causing an exodus of lawyers. And Alina Habba came to the White House to serve as counselor to the president. Habba, known for her television appearances attacking the cases against Trump, worked on Trump's civil fraud prosecution brought by the New York attorney general and the defamation cases brought by advice columnist E. Jean Carroll. In March, Trump named Habba as interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey. In that role, she has brought criminal charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) over a scuffle at a Newark immigration facility. But not all lawyers entered the administration. Steve Sadow, Trump's lead counsel in his Georgia criminal case concerning his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, had no interest. Sadow is a longtime Atlanta-based defense attorney who has represented several other prominent clients, such as Usher and Rick Ross. 'I have never been a prosecutor and never will be. It just not in my makeup,' Sadow said in November after Trump's election victory. Trump's criminal trial became a critical stop for his strongest GOP allies and those vying to join his future administration — and showing up paid off. Vice President Vance, then a Republican senator from Ohio, joined Trump's courtroom entourage on the first day of testimony from fixer-turned-foe Michael Cohen. He questioned Cohen's credibility as a witness on social media and, outside the courthouse, accused the Manhattan prosecutors trying the case of being 'Democratic political operatives.' Then-North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R), who called the proceeding a 'scam trial' outside the courthouse, is now Interior secretary. On Thursday, Trump named Paul Ingrassia, who attended the trial and liveposted a flood of pro-Trump content, to lead the office charged with prosecuting misconduct in the federal workforce. And Susie Wiles, who was a senior adviser to Trump's presidential campaign, attended parts of the trial and was later named his White House chief of staff. Some Republican allies initially rewarded have ultimately seen those rewards falter. Trump initially named ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) for attorney general, but Gaetz withdrew after it became clear he would not earn enough support in Congress. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) was tapped as ambassador to the United Nations, but Trump later asked her to withdraw over fear of losing her congressional seat. And former presidential candidate-turned-Trump-surrogate Vivek Ramaswamy was set to join the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) cost-cutting mission alongside billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk but departed to run for governor of Ohio. Trump's personal legal woes fell into the background after he became president, but some of his biggest cases are returning to the limelight. On June 11, Trump's hush money conviction heads to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit for oral arguments. The president is attempting to move his case out of New York state court — where Trump has long complained he isn't being treated fairly — and into federal court. If successful, the move would provide Trump a pathway to assert immunity and other defenses that could see his 34-count felony conviction tossed. Sullivan & Cromwell now helms the president's defense after many of his mainstay lawyers moved into the Justice Department. The Justice Department is now going to bat for Trump, filing a friend-of-the-court brief backing the president's position. 'To hold otherwise would risk incentivizing state and local prosecutors to manipulate trial dates and the timing of evidentiary submissions in the most high-profile of cases,' the Justice Department wrote in its brief. Trump's attorneys will face off against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's (D) office, which brought the hush money prosecution. The office argues Trump's bid to move courts is dead now that he's been sentenced. Nearly two weeks later, the same court on June 24 will hear Trump's appeal of a jury's verdict ordering him to pay $83.3 million to Carroll, the longtime advice columnist who accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in the 1990s. The Justice Department is attempting to come to Trump's rescue in that case, too. In April, the department again asked to substitute the government as the defendant in Carroll's lawsuit. It had done so at the onset of the case before abandoning the effort in 2023, during the Biden administration. 'I don't need to tell you that Robbie and I are ready for the fight, do I?' Carroll wrote on Substack last month, referencing her attorney, Robbie Kaplan. The trial was the second time a jury ordered Trump to pay Carroll. He also was ordered to hand over $5 million in her separate lawsuit, a verdict the 2nd Circuit upheld in December. And in the state courts in New York, Trump awaits an appeals panel's decision in its review of the state's civil fraud case against him, which ended in a nearly $500 million judgment against him and his business. The panel heard arguments in September and seemed wary of the massive financial penalty. A decision could come at any time. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
13 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Trump orbit rewarded in year since criminal conviction
It's been one year since President Trump was found guilty on all counts of falsifying business records to keep alleged affairs secret during his 2016 campaign, enshrining him in history as the first ex-commander-in-chief to become a convicted felon. Now back in the White House, his world looks very different — and those who remained by his side have reaped the benefits. Trump's defense attorneys are now serving at the Justice Department's highest levels. His allies who showed up to the trial have been rewarded with Cabinet posts and even the vice presidency. Trump is also continuing to fight his legal woes, with two major appeals court battles set for June. Here's where everything stands one year later. Trump's defense lawyers become the prosecution After retaking the White House, many of Trump's personal defense attorneys filled top Justice Department positions. Todd Blanche, Trump's lead counsel at the hush money trial, serves as deputy attorney general. His right-hand man, Emil Bove, now works as Blanche's deputy. The duo has made aggressive moves, including the controversial dismissal of New York City Mayor Eric Adams's (D) corruption case. Bove's tenure at the department may be quickly coming to a close, however. This week, Trump said he was nominating Bove to a judgeship on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. D. John Sauer, who successfully argued Trump's presidential immunity claims before the Supreme Court that stymied several of his criminal cases, now spearheads the administration's efforts at the high court as solicitor general. Sauer's office has brought more than a dozen emergency applications to the justices seeking to lift lower court injunctions blocking Trump's policies. Meanwhile, Harmeet Dhillon, who supported Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election and represented him in a 14th Amendment challenge to his 2024 candidacy, oversees the Justice Department's civil rights division. She has reshaped the division's priorities, causing an exodus of lawyers. And Alina Habba came to the White House to serve as counselor to the president. Habba, known for her television appearances attacking the cases against Trump, worked on Trump's civil fraud prosecution brought by the New York attorney general and the defamation cases brought by advice columnist E. Jean Carroll. In March, Trump named Habba as interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey. In that role, she has brought criminal charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) over a scuffle at a Newark immigration facility. But not all lawyers entered the administration. Steve Sadow, Trump's lead counsel in his Georgia criminal case concerning his efforts following the 2020 election, had no interest. Sadow is a longtime Atlanta-based defense attorney who has represented several other prominent clients like Usher and Rick Ross. 'I have never been a prosecutor and never will be. It just not in my makeup,' Sadow said in November after Trump's election victory. Trump's allies rewarded Trump's criminal trial became a critical stop for his strongest GOP allies and those vying to join his future administration — and showing up paid off. Vice President Vance, then a Republican senator for Ohio, joined Trump's courtroom entourage on the first day of testimony from fixer-turned-foe Michael Cohen. He questioned Cohen's credibility as a witness on social media, and outside the courthouse, accused the Manhattan prosecutors trying the case of being 'Democratic political operatives.' Then-North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R), who called the proceeding a 'scam trial' outside the courthouse, is now Interior secretary. On Thursday, Trump named Paul Ingrassia, who attended the trial and live tweeted a flood of pro-Trump content, to lead the office charged with prosecuting misconduct in the federal workforce. And Susie Wiles, who was a senior advisor to Trump's presidential campaign, attended parts of the trial and was later named his White House chief of staff. Some Republican allies initially rewarded have ultimately seen those rewards falter. Trump initially named ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) for attorney general, but Gaetz withdrew after it became clear he would not earn enough support in Congress. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) was tapped as ambassador to the United Nations, but Trump later asked her to withdraw over fear of losing her congressional seat. And former presidential candidate-turned-Trump-surrogate Vivek Ramaswamy was set to join the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) cost-cutting mission alongside billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk but departed to run for governor of Ohio. Where Trump's legal troubles stand Trump's personal legal woes fell into the background after he became president, but some of his biggest cases are returning to the limelight. On June 11, Trump's hush money conviction heads to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit for oral arguments. The president is attempting to move his case out of New York state court — where Trump has long complained he isn't being treated fairly — and into federal court. If successful, the move would provide Trump a pathway to assert immunity and other defenses that could see his 34-count felony conviction tossed. Sullivan & Cromwell now helms the president's defense after many of his mainstay lawyers moved into the Justice Department. The Justice Department is now going to bat for Trump, filing a friend-of-the-court brief backing the president's position. 'To hold otherwise would risk incentivizing state and local prosecutors to manipulate trial dates and the timing of evidentiary submissions in the most high-profile of cases,' the Justice Department wrote in its brief. Trump's attorneys will face off against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's (D) office, which brought the hush money prosecution. The office argues Trump's bid to move courts is dead now that he's been sentenced. Nearly two weeks later, the same court on June 24 will hear Trump's appeal of a jury's verdict ordering him to pay $83.3 million to Carroll, the longtime advice columnist who accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in the 1990s. The Justice Department is attempting to come to Trump's rescue in that case, too. In April, the department again asked to substitute the government as the defendant in Carroll's lawsuit. It had done so at the onset of the case before abandoning the effort in 2023, during the Biden administration. 'I don't need to tell you that Robbie and I are ready for the fight, do I?' Carroll wrote on Substack last month, referencing her attorney, Robbie Kaplan. The trial was the second time a jury ordered Trump to pay Carroll. He also was ordered to hand over $5 million in her separate lawsuit, a verdict the 2nd Circuit upheld in December. And in the state courts in New York, Trump awaits an appeals panel's decision in its review of the state's civil fraud case against the now sitting president, which ended in a nearly $500 million judgment against him and his business. The panel heard arguments in September and seemed wary of the massive financial penalty. A decision could come at any time.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump Taps His Own Criminal Defense Attorney For Lifetime Federal Judgeship
WASHINGTON — In a pathetic act of cowardice last year, a handful of Democrats tanked one of President Joe Biden's judicial nominees, Adeel Mangi. Mangi, who was a veteran civil litigator in New Jersey, was an objectively impressive and qualified pick. He also happened to be Muslim, so Republicans subjected him to adisgustingmonthslongsmearcampaign aimed at baselessly casting him as an antisemitic terrorist sympathizer. Despite his horrific treatment, Mangi hung in there, racking up endorsements from major Jewish organizations, and could have been confirmed if Democrats stuck together. But wary of their own reelection bids, a handful of senators chickened out and said they'd vote no. Then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) sealed his fate by cutting a deal with Republicans to expedite votes on a batch of judicial nominees — but not Mangi. President Donald Trump announced Wednesday whom he plans to nominate to this seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit: his personal criminal defense attorney, Emil Bove, who is currently known as Trump's hatchet manat the Justice Department. 'Emil is SMART, TOUGH, and respected by everyone,' Trump said on social media. 'He will end the Weaponization of Justice, restore the Rule of Law, and do anything else that is necessary to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. Emil Bove will never let you down!' Bove, 44, was a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York before leaving for a private law firm in New Jersey. Todd Blanche, who is Trump's deputy U.S. attorney general, recruited Bove to help him defend Trump in his 2024 criminal indictment trial. Bove now serves as principal associate deputy attorney general under Blanche. In his short time at the Justice Department, Bove has been abusing his role to punish people whom Trump considers his political enemies or to push out people who could stand in the way of Trump doing whatever he wants, laws be damned. Among other things, Bove forced the transfer of top career officials who were seen as a firewall against political inference at the department, which otherwise operates independently from presidential administrations in enforcing laws. He ordered the firings of federal prosecutors involved in the cases against more than 1,500 people charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Bove also demanded the FBI turn over the names of its agents assigned to Jan. 6 cases, which led to a lawsuit and attorneys for the FBI agents saying they couldn't trust that the Justice Department wouldn't give their names to Trump purely so he could retaliate against them. Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond and a federal judicial nominations expert, said Bove's actions at the Justice Department alone 'should disqualify him for life tenure on the federal bench.' Tobias also brought up Bove's role in the Justice Department's effort to drop corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Adams was indicted on federal charges of bribery, fraud and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations, but Bove pressured federal prosecutors to drop all charges in what appeared to be a brazen quid pro quo, with the administration dropping the case in exchange for Adams cooperating with Trump's immigration policies. Several career attorneys resigned from the Justice Department rather than comply with Bove's demands, including Danielle Sassoon, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, who wrote in her resignation letter that it was her constitutional duty to 'prosecute crimes without fear or favor.' The case was ultimately dismissed. 'Bove's DOJ efforts show that he is a Trump loyalist and lacks the qualifications, especially wisdom and temperament, to serve as a federal judge,' said Tobias. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who recommended Mangi to Biden for this seat in 2023 and unsuccessfully fought for his confirmation, called Bove's nomination 'deeply troubling.' 'It is vital that the federal judiciary in New Jersey be committed to upholding the ideals of independence and objectivity,' Booker said in a joint statement with Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.). 'On this measure, Emil Bove has fallen short, repeatedly engaging in conduct as a top advisor in Trump's administration that undermines his credibility as an objective jurist.' Progressive judicial advocacy groups have denounced Bove's nomination and urged senators to oppose his confirmation to the 3rd circuit court, which has jurisdiction in New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania. 'Let's speak plainly: Emil Bove is being nominated to a circuit court seat because of his proven loyalty to Trump,' Maggie Jo Buchanan, interim executive director of Demand Justice, said in a statement. 'Bove has demonstrated time and time again his willingness to use his position to advance even the most dangerous and extreme actions of this administration,' she said. 'Any member of that chamber that purports to respect our system of governance must reject this nominee as antithetical to the foundational values of our nation and our courts.' Caroline Ciccone, the president of a progressive watchdog group focused on corruption in government, said 'every American should be alarmed' by Bove's nomination. 'Bove has consistently placed his loyalty to Trump over the Constitution,' Ciccone said in a statement. 'And his lifetime appointment would all but guarantee Trump and his allies could seek out favorable rulings regardless of how unconstitutional their actions are.' Trump's first batch of judicial nominees is getting a hearing next Wednesday in the Senate Judiciary Committee, but Bove's nomination hearing hasn't been announced yet.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump wants to make one of his controversial former defense lawyers an appeals court judge
Nearly 20 years ago, during George W. Bush's fifth year in the White House, the Republican president thought it'd be a good idea to nominate his own former lawyer, Harriet Miers, to serve as a U.S. Supreme Court justice. This quickly proved to be a fiasco, which collapsed within weeks. Two decades later, Donald Trump is apparently thinking along similar lines: The incumbent GOP president, also in his fifth year, is nominating one of his own former lawyers to serve on the federal appellate bench. The New York Times reported: President Trump announced Wednesday that he would nominate Emil Bove III, the polarizing and widely feared top Justice Department official responsible for strong-arm tactics in enacting Mr. Trump's immigration agenda, to be a federal appeals judge. Mr. Bove, 44, is a former criminal defense lawyer for Mr. Trump. He would fill a vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which covers Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. In a statement published to his social media platform, the president insisted that Bove 'is SMART, TOUGH, and respected by everyone.' All things considered, 'everyone' was probably the wrong choice of words. Let's start with Bove's rise to prominence as a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, where he faced a variety of allegations about his lack of professionalism. The Associated Press reported a few months ago, 'One lawyer complained in the 2018 email that Bove was 'completely reckless and out of control' in how he handled his cases. Another, upset about Bove's rudeness and power plays, said he needed 'adult supervision.' A third, a top federal public defender in the city, said 'he cannot be bothered to treat lesser mortals with respect or empathy.'' The AP quoted Christine Chung, a former federal prosecutor, who said, 'In my experience litigating against him, what [Bove] enjoyed most as a prosecutor was wielding power — the single worst possible trait for a public servant. But people won't speak against him publicly because he's also vindictive.' Bove later parlayed this background into a role as a Trump defense attorney, punctuated by his defeat in the Stormy Daniels case. After his former client was elected to a second term in the Oval Office, Bove was rewarded with a powerful position in the Justice Department, where he fired federal prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases and helped to oversee the scandalous dismissal of New York City Mayor Eric Adams' corruption case (among other things). In fact, as my MSNBC colleague Lisa Rubin noted in February, Bove's handling of the Adams case generated 'at least three complaints about him ... to the relevant New York state body responsible for attorney discipline.' Around the same time, Rubin added, the Campaign for Accountability submitted a similar complaint to both the state and the chief judge of the Southern District, alleging that Bove's conduct in connection with the Adams case may have violated at least six different ethical rules. The idea that this guy deserves a lifetime position on the federal appellate bench is plainly absurd. Trump's nomination creates yet another test for Senate Republicans, which, if recent history is any guide, they will almost certainly fail. The confirmation hearings are bound to be interesting. Watch this space. This article was originally published on
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Emil Bove, ex-Trump lawyer and current DOJ official, nominated for federal appeals court judge
on Wednesday nominated Emil Bove, his former defense attorney and now a senior justice department official, for a seat on the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears federal cases from Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now 'Emil is SMART, TOUGH, and respected by everyone,' Trump said in a social media post announcing the nomination. "He will end the Weaponization of Justice, restore the Rule of Law, and do anything else that is necessary to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. Emil Bove will never let you down!' The nomination comes amid controversy surrounding Bove's recent actions as acting deputy attorney general. Bove has played a central role in shifting the justice department's priorities since Trump returned to the White House in January. A former prosecutor in the southern district of New York, he previously represented Trump in several legal matters, including the hush money trial and federal investigations related to the 2020 election and classified documents. One of Bove's most contentious moves was his decision to end the corruption case against New York City mayor Eric Adams. That order led to the resignations of US attorney Danielle Sassoon and other top officials. Bove justified the dismissal by saying the case hindered the mayor's support of the administration's immigration strategy. His actions also extended to the January 6 investigations. Bove accused FBI agents of defying orders by not disclosing identities of those involved in the Capitol riot probe. He also dismissed prosecutors working on related cases, signaling a broader reshuffle within the department. Bove's nomination has drawn sharp criticism from Democrats. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "Judges must be committed to upholding the rule of law, due process, and fairness," senators Cory Booker and Andy Kim of New Jersey said in a joint statement. "Emil Bove's actions have compromised our faith that he can be this." Bove assumed his current position after Todd Blanche, also a former Trump defense lawyer, became deputy attorney general. As Blanche's top adviser, Bove was appointed principal associate deputy attorney general, placing him at the heart of major departmental decisions. Before joining the justice department's top ranks, Bove spent nearly a decade prosecuting high-stakes cases, including drug cartels and terrorism suspects. His notable work includes cases involving an ex-Honduran president's brother and a domestic bomber who targeted political figures. However, his time as a prosecutor was not without controversy. In 2018, the federal public defender's office collected complaints from defense attorneys about Bove's courtroom conduct and submitted them to department leadership. Despite that, he was later promoted to a top post in the national security and narcotics division. Earlier in his career, Bove clerked for two federal judges appointed by former President George W Bush, solidifying his long-standing connections within conservative legal circles.
