Latest news with #ThirdCircuitCourtofAppeals
The Hill
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Judge Emil Bove is dangerous, but let's not freak out
The appointment of Trump apparatchik Emil Bove to the influential Third Circuit Court of Appeals is terrible, deeply compromising the standards of integrity and judicial independence that have been at the core of our constitutional system since 1789. The judiciary is, as Alexander Hamilton declared it, 'the weakest of the three' branches of government. It does not need to be any weaker. But it is not yet the end of the world. The clear and present danger is that the Bove appointment, perhaps the worst Trump has made, is a chip-shot away from our supremely partisan Supreme Court. Only one judge has made it from the Third Circuit to the Supreme Court — the hard-right Justice Samuel Alito, appointed by President George W. Bush in 2006. Alito is 75, at the threshold of a reasonable retirement. But beware, with Bove waiting in the wings, the stage is set for Alito to get off the court. Some of the elements a good judge must possess are experience, intellect, judgment, temperament, integrity, character and fairness. Bove flunks on all counts. Forget that he has no prior federal judicial experience. This has been true of the greatest of our Supreme Court justices, the venerated Chief Justice John Marshall, and the very worst, Chief Justice Roger Taney, who wrote the infamous Dred Scott opinion denying citizenship to Black people. It is also true of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes and Justice Louis Brandeis. Fifty senators shamefully caved on Bove, just as they did with the hideous appointments of Pam Bondi, Pete Hegseth, Kristi Noem, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Kash Patel, to name a few. But remember, Bove gets a lifetime appointment, while the others will be there only so long as Trump is. Bove is joined even more closely with Trump at the hip, having defended him as his personal lawyer in multiple criminal cases. A group of former prosecutors wrote a letter urging Bove's rejection and calling him 'the worst conceivable nominee.' Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) voted against confirming Bove, stating that his 'political profile and some of the actions he has taken in his leadership roles at the Department of Justice cause me to conclude he would not serve as an impartial jurist.' Bove makes us queasy with statements that put his temperament and judgment in doubt. What is the temperament of someone quoted by Justice Department colleagues as advocating defiance of court orders with the crude battle cry, 'F— the courts!' What is the judgment of someone who has described the investigation and prosecution of those who attacked the Capitol as 'a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people'? What is the integrity of someone who told the court there was no quid pro quo in the Justice Department decision he led to dismiss the indictment of New York City Mayor Eric Adams 'without prejudice'? The federal judge who had the case found this representation to lack credibility and dismissed with prejudice, stating, 'There may or may not be good reasons to drop this prosecution. But the reasons articulated by [the Justice Department], if taken at face value, are inconsistent with a decision to leave the charges in the indictment hanging like the proverbial sword of Damocles over the mayor.' But even though Trump has cheapened the standards for appointment to the federal judiciary, there is still some hope. Sitting in the Third Circuit, which comprises Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and the Virgin Islands, Bove will have to come to terms with a complement of 13 judges, seven Democrats and six Republicans. There is one remaining vacancy which Trump will try to fill. But take a deep breath. The Third Circuit rarely hears cases with ideological implications. Because its jurisdiction includes Delaware, where many corporations are housed, many of the cases coming before it are business or corporate disputes. Bove will mostly sit on a panel of three judges, and some Republican judges on the court have shown considerable independence. In a 2020 election case, for example, Third Circuit Court Judge Stephanos Bibas, a Trump appointee, authored a unanimous decision rejecting the Trump campaign's claims of fraud in Pennsylvania, writing that 'calling an election unfair does not make it so.' The MAGA-era Supreme Court is a horse of a different color from Bove's Third Circuit. If not historically a political policy-making body, it certainly is one now. The Supreme Court has arrogated to itself untrammeled policymaking authority. With cases like the Dobbs decision overruling Roe v. Wade, the immunity decision giving Trump a free pass for criminal deeds while in office, and the shadow docket decisions giving Trump carte blanche to ride roughshod on constitutional rights without opinion or reasoning, we now have a supremely partisan Supreme Court. Emil Bove is 44. If he makes it to the Supreme Court, he will be there for a generation or longer. But of course, he may never make it. Adults in the appointing authority may make a sounder judgment next time around. However fraught, it would be premature for liberals to wear the hair shirt. James D. Zirin, author and legal analyst, is a former federal prosecutor in New York's Southern District. He is the author of ' Supremely Partisan,' a book arguing that the Supreme Court has become politicized. He is also the host of the public television talk show and podcast .
The Hill
30-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Senate Democrat: Emil Bove ‘genuinely bad guy'
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) condemned Tuesday confirmation of controversial nominee Emil Bove to serve as a judge on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, after a series of whistleblowers accused him of a history of malfeasance. 'This is a genuinely bad guy,' Whitehouse said late Tuesday in an appearance on MSNBC's 'The Briefing.' 'He was in the Department of Justice for all of six months and managed to rack up three separate, significant episodes of prosecutorial misconduct,' he told host Jen Psaki, adding, 'I mean, most prosecutors go a lifetime without doing that.' Bove has been the subject of three different complaints in recent weeks. Two alleged he encouraged others to violate court orders, and another accused him of misleading Congress on the Justice Department's (DOJ) dropping of bribery charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D). 'This was like big deal, first principles violated, real problems. A fake criminal investigation, dangling another investigation over the head of an elected official to try to get him to comply on policy stuff, and then the famous, 'You know, you got to be ready to tell the courts F you if they disagree with Trump,'' Whitehouse said, referring to a whistleblower report alleging Bove used expletives to direct DOJ employees not to comply with court orders. 'And then, aside from those three prosecutorial misconduct episodes, he wouldn't say a word about what he did with the Epstein files during all those months when he was their prime custodian,' the Rhode Island senator added. Many of his Democratic colleagues agreed and were outraged after Bove's confirmation succeeded in a vote along party lines. Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine) voted against his appointment. 'They reward a man, credibly accused of wanting to lie to judges, with a black robe and gavel of his own,' Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on the floor after the vote. 'And they're confirming him for one reason only: Mr. Bove is loyal to Donald Trump, therefore Donald Trump wants him on the bench,' he continued. 'The calculus is as simple as that.' Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said in a post online ahead of the vote that the confirmation process was rushed to prevent any additional reports of Bove's misconduct from being unveiled. He also blasted his GOP colleagues after his confirmation. 'Republicans just voted to confirm Emil Bove. Despite whistleblowers confirming he urged them to ignore court orders,' he wrote later Tuesday on social platform X. 'Despite it being clear he lied to the Judiciary Committee. And despite the danger he poses to the rule of law. The corruption of the bench continues.' More than 900 former DOJ attorneys had also urged the Senate to reject Bove's nomination to the lifetime judicial appointment.
The Hill
30-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Senate confirms Emil Bove to appeals court despite whistleblower complaints, controversy
The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Emil Bove to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, launching President Trump's former personal lawyer to a lifetime appointment on the bench amid a series of whistleblower complaints about his conduct. Bove, currently in the No. 3 role at the Justice Department, is the subject of three different complaints in recent weeks, with two alleging he suggested violating court orders and a third saying he reportedly misled Congress on the dropping of bribery charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams (D). His nomination was confirmed with a 50-49 vote, with Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine) crossing the aisle to join all Democrats in opposing his nomination. Democrats were quick to point out the speed of Bove's consideration as his nomination was scheduled for a Tuesday night vote. 'What will come out next about Bove? That's precisely the problem with this disaster of a nominee. And why Senate Republicans are rushing through his nomination. Before more disqualifying information can come out,' Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said in a Tuesday post on X. Bove has been dogged by whistleblower complaints since his June confirmation hearing, something Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the top Democrat on the panel, said came as those around Bove 'step forward and risk their own careers to tell the truth.' Whistleblower Erez Reuveni alleged Bove suggested the Justice Department defy any court orders blocking the Trump administration from deporting migrants to a foreign prison under the Alien Enemies Act, saying DOJ might have to tell the courts 'f–- you.' Reuveni was fired after his candor in a related case, telling a judge that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was wrongly deported due to an administrative error. His complaint details his confusion as he received largely silence as he sought to update the administration on a court order to halt or turn around any flights. Instead, some 200 Venezuelan men were brought to a megaprison in El Salvador, and a judge has since ignited a review after finding probable cause to hold the Trump administration in criminal contempt for willfully disobeying his order. A second whistleblower has stepped forward with information they say corroborates Reuveni's allegations. Bove has said he could not recall whether he used the expletive but said during his confirmation hearing that he 'certainly conveyed the importance of the upcoming operation.' A third whistleblower has forwarded new allegations about Bove's role in ending the prosecution of New York Mayor Eric Adams (D) on bribery charges, according to reporting from The Washington Post. Sources told The Hill that the information called into question Bove's truthfulness with the Senate Judiciary Committee. Prosecutors who worked the case refused to drop the charges and sign onto the dismissal notice, prompting a wave of resignations. Bove said during his confirmation hearing that the Trump administration needed Adams's cooperation on immigration matters, prompting cries from Democrats that the move was a clear quid pro quo. 'Policy reasons made it appropriate to drop the charges,' Bove said at the time. Durbin, speaking on the Senate floor ahead of the vote, said the admission was a quid pro quo. '[Bove] personally led the Administration's attempt to strike a corrupt bargain with New York City Mayor Eric Adams by offering to drop his pending prosecution in exchange for Mayor Adams' cooperation on President Trump's immigration policies. Get that straight,' he said. 'Investigations of corruption on the mayor of New York City, the response from the Trump Administration, from Mr. Emil Bove was, we'll cut a deal with you. We won't prosecute you if you promise to play ball with us when it comes to mass deportations,' Durbin said. Beyond the whistleblower complaints, Bove has also come under fire for leading the effort to dismiss prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases and collecting a list of FBI agents who worked on investigations into rioters. But Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) blasted the whistleblowers for making disclosures at critical moments in Bove's nomination process. 'Like clockwork, just before a hearing on a vote, we get another breathless accusation that one of President Trump's nominees needs to be — you guessed it — investigated,' he said, referring to a Tuesday letter from Schiff alongside Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.). 'The vicious rhetoric, unfair accusations, and abuse directed at Mr. Bove by some on this committee, it has crossed the line.' He went on to praise Bove's qualifications. 'I support the nomination of Mr. Bove. He has a strong legal background, and has served his country honorably. I believe he will be diligent, capable, and a fair jurist. My Republican colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee agree, and that's why he was reported out of committee with every Republican supporting his nomination,' he said.
Politico
28-07-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Bove's nomination not yet derailed by new whistleblower complaint
Staff for Senate Judiciary Committee chair Chuck Grassley met Monday with lawyers for a third whistleblower testifying against Emil Bove, President Donald Trump's nominee to sit on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals whose confirmation vote could be scheduled for as soon as Tuesday. Grassley said in a brief interview his team found out about the new allegations in recent days from social media, but his staff was unable to secure the meeting until Monday. 'I don't have the results of that sit-down, but I do know this: All we've been getting all weekend is the runaround, so I really have questions about the adequacy with the way the Democrats are handling this,' Grassley said. 'I just don't think it shows the proper respect for whistleblowers.' Bove's nomination has been dogged by accusations he suggested defying court orders that could pull back on the administration's aggressive immigration and deportation agenda. Senate Judiciary Democrats asked to hold a hearing with one former DOJ employee, Erez Reuveni, the first whistleblower to implicate Bove with potential misconduct. Grassley declined the request. A second whistleblower against Bove is currently being represented by the nonprofit group, Whistleblower Aid. Democrats argue these complaints warrant Bove's disqualification for a lifetime judgeship, and have dedicated significant time and messaging resources to slamming his consideration. It's not likely, though, that this new development could be enough to sway more Republicans to oppose him. GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine are expected to vote 'no.' Sen. Thom Tillis, whose opposition to Trump's previous U.S. attorney pick for the District of Columbia tanked the nomination and is not running for reelection, had been viewed as a possible Republican who could be flipped on judicial contenders. But the North Carolina lawmaker said Monday his support of Bove remained unchanged. 'The problem that I'm running into is whether or not people are willing to come out and identify themselves, or at least identify themselves to members,' said Tillis of the whistleblowers. Tillis also pointed out Bove would be confirmed with or without his support: unless a fourth Republican were to come out and oppose the nominee, there 'no' votes would only require Vice President JD Vance to break the tie and deliver the White House a victory. A Grassley spokesperson, Clare Slattery, also slammed the new whistleblower's late allegations. 'His staff has so far spoken to more than a dozen people who have reached out to share information about the Bove nomination, and has not declined a meeting with anyone who said they had information to share,' Slattery said in a statement regarding sides for the committee chair. 'These eleventh-hour allegations, which were shared in advance with Democrats and the media but not with the Chairman or his staff, reek of a bad faith attempt to sink a nominee who's already received committee approval,' she continued. Grassley staff also has yet to review or gain access to the documents that support the third whistleblower's complaint. Once Trump's criminal defense lawyer, Bove is now a top official at the Department of Justice. If confirmed, he would hold a lifetime seat on the court with jurisdiction over Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and the Virgin Islands.
The Hill
24-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Senate tees up final vote on controversial appeals court nominee Emil Bove
The Senate on Thursday advanced the controversial nomination of Emil Bove, teeing up a final vote on his lifetime appointment to an appeals court. Bove, who is currently serving in the No. 3 role at the Justice Department, has been nominated by President Trump for a judgeship on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. The Senate voted 50-48 to limit debate on his nomination. Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) were the only GOP members to vote against advancing Bove. Bove has been embroiled in controversy since the start of the Trump administration. He was behind moves to fire prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases and moved to dismiss the bribery charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D), prompting a flood of resignations from career attorneys. Most recently he has been at the center of allegations from a Justice Department whistleblower who said Bove suggested the department defy expected court orders blocking its plans to send Venezuelan migrants to a foreign prison, saying they may need to say 'f–- you.' Democrats asked to hold a hearing with the whistleblower, Erez Reuveni, who was fired after disclosing in a related case that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported due to an administrative error. Democrats took to the floor ahead of the vote to say the information presented about Bove was disqualifying. 'With Bove's nomination, we are about to find out if Republicans are content to give a man so routinely in defiance of the rule of law, a lifetime job interpreting it on behalf of millions of Americans. Like so many of his unfit Cabinet nominees, Donald Trump is daring Senate Republicans to oppose him,' Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said on the Senate floor. 'I hope and pray they will, because the pattern is clear. Emil Bove takes orders from Donald Trump, and that is it. His only merit is blind obedience, not to the law, but to the President, and not just any president, but to one who is also a convicted felon. And so I urge my colleagues to look at Bove's record of disrespect for the law and reject this dangerous nominee.' Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) noted that more than 900 former DOJ attorneys who served under presidents of both parties had signed onto a letter opposing his nomination, while over 75 judges also spoke out against his nomination. 'I don't know of another case I have seen in my 14 years in the Senate where someone so unqualified for the bench is before us,' Booker said. 'But somehow right now, it just seems to be too few Republicans willing to stand up with courage of their convictions, to call it like it is, to do their constitutional duty to look squarely at the qualifications of this judge and see what plainly professionals, prosecutors, judges – by the hundreds – from both parties have come forward and said to this body: do not let him go forward.'
