U.S. Senate confirms former Trump lawyer Emil Bove as federal judge despite whistleblower concerns
The U.S. Senate confirmed on Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney Emil Bove, as a federal judge, installed Trump’s loyalist who served in a turbulent period in the Justice Department.
The Republican majority Senate voted 50-49 to confirm that Bove, who has been a senior Justice Department official, was appointed for his lifetime in the Philadelphia-based third U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Philadelphia-based U.S. Court of Appeals.
Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine were opposed by all Democrats.
Bove overcame the fierce opposition from Democrats, protesting when the Senate Judiciary Committee filed a nomination and more than 900 former Justice Department employees, accusing Bove of undermining the integrity of the department.
“It’s a dark day, dark votes and dangerous nominees confirmed,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, a Senate Democrat, said after the vote.
Bove won support from Republicans who praised his experience as a federal terrorism prosecutor in New York and served as Trump’s defense attorney in three criminal cases faced by the president.
“I believe he will be a hardworking, capable and fair jurist,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Tuesday.
Whistleblower complaint
Bove’s confirmation will restore Republican-appointed majority in the appeals court, which heard cases in New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania.
When the Trump administration took active action to align the department with its priorities, several confrontations with professional officials became centered.
A former Justice Department attorney Erez Reuveni accused Bove of telling subordinates in a blasphemy manner during a meeting in March that the administration could violate the court if the judge prevents the Trump administration from using emergency powers to deport immigrants.
Bauff told the Senate panel that he did not remember making such remarks and denied violating court orders.
Allegations against two other unnamed Justice Department whistleblowers have surfaced in recent days, according to a public statement from lawyers and advocacy groups representing the whistleblower.
Bauff also ordered prosecutors to abandon the corruption case against New York Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat who has linked to Trump, citing the mayor’s upcoming re-election campaign and his assistance in Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The directive prompted the resignation of 11 prosecutors, including the acting U.S. attorney in Manhattan, who accused Bove of relying on improper political considerations and strike with Adams.
Bove argued that it was appropriate to dismiss the case and denied any agreement.
The Republican-led Senate has begun confirming Trump’s first judicial draft picks from his second term, trying to transfer the ideological composition of the federal judiciary from his first term to rights based on 234 judicial appointments.
The judge issued dozens of rulings to stop or block policies that Trump is seen as illegal, prompting Trump administration officials to accuse the court of going beyond its power and thwarting voters’ will.
