Emil Bove, now a federal court of appeals nominee, proposed defying court orders, former DOJ colleague says
A top Justice Department official who has been nominated for a federal judgeship suggested to colleagues that the administration would defy court orders in order to carry out President Donald Trump’s aggressive plan for mass deportations, according to a whistleblower letter submitted by another attorney who was present.
The official, Emil Bove, proposed ignoring court orders as administration lawyers strategized in March over expected legal challenges to the president’s plan to assert wartime powers to rapidly deport some immigrants, according to the account from Erez Reuveni, who was fired from his Justice Department post in April.
Reuveni said the episode was followed by a series of attempts by DOJ officials to thwart court orders in at least three immigration-related cases. When Reuveni urged his colleagues to correct course, he says he was “threatened, fired and publicly disparaged.”
Reuveni submitted the 27-page letter through his attorneys Tuesday to the House and Senate judiciary committees and DOJ’s inspector general. It was first reported by The New York Times.
Reuveni alleged that Bove, the principal associate deputy attorney general, suggested during a March 14 meeting that the administration would ignore court orders if they hindered a signature aspect of Trump’s deportation agenda. The meeting, which was attended by DOJ’s top immigration lawyers, was aimed at discussing Trump’s plan to invoke wartime authority under the Alien Enemies Act to summarily deport to El Salvador about 130 Venezuelan men with alleged gang ties.
As the lawyers strategized over the administration’s response to anticipated legal challenges, Bove made a startling suggestion, according to Reuveni.
“Bove stated that DOJ would need to consider telling the courts ‘fuck you’ and ignore any such court order,” Reuveni’s attorneys wrote. “Mr. Reuveni was stunned by Bove’s statement because, to Mr. Reuveni’s knowledge, no one in DOJ leadership — in any Administration — had ever suggested the Department of Justice could blatantly ignore court orders, especially with a ‘fuck you.’” [Continue reading…]