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Senate confirmed former Trump defense lawyer Emil Bove to serve on appeals court

Bove was one of the lawyers who represented Trump in several of his criminal cases and joined the Justice Department as chief deputy attorney general when the conservative leader began his second White House presidency in January.

Emil Bove in a file image.

Emil Bove in a file image.AFP

Published by
Luis Francisco Orozco

The Senate on Tuesday approved the nomination of Emil Bove, former defense attorney for President Donald Trump, to serve on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, after a close 50–49 final vote. Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joined Democrats in voting against the nomination. For his part, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley justified his nomination after assuring that Bove "has a strong legal background and has served his country honorably. I believe he will be diligent, capable and a fair judge."

Bove was one of the lawyers who represented Trump in several of his criminal cases and joined the Justice Department as chief deputy attorney general when the conservative leader began his second White House presidency in January. The former Trump lawyer also came to serve briefly as acting deputy attorney general during the first few weeks of the Republican administration, until the upper chamber confirmed fellow former Trump defense attorney Todd Blanche for that position.

Allegations of unethical conduct

In recent months, Bove faced several allegations of unethical conduct from a fired Justice Department lawyer named Erez Reuveni, who went so far as to file a whistleblower complaint with lawmakers in June. Reuveni claimed in that complaint that Bove had gone so far as to suggest that the Trump administration should completely ignore various court orders on efforts to deport illegal immigrants under the wartime Alien Enemy Alien Act.

In the face of such accusations, both the White House and the Justice Department have publicly defended Bove, and even claimed that Reuveni is nothing more than a "disgruntled former employee." On the Democrats' harsh criticism of his nomination, Grassley lashed out at them and commented that since the beginning of the second Trump Administration they have tried to obstruct almost every appointment of the president. "The vicious rhetoric, unfair accusations and abuse directed at Mr. Bove by some on this committee, it has crossed the line," he commented.

Democratic attempts to delay the vote

Following Reuveni's initial allegations, Democrats tried unsuccessfully to get the Senate Judiciary Committee to delay a vote on his confirmation, going so far as to all withdraw from a vote earlier this month to move forward with his nomination in protest. Democrats on the committee also asked to delay the vote to move forward with his nomination in order to allow Reuveni to testify, a strategy that ultimately failed after Grassley's refusal.

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