Dozens of judges call Emil Bove unfit for bench in letter to Senate
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Emil Bove during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, June 25. Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Over 75 former federal and state judges signed a letter urging lawmakers to reject the "deeply inappropriate" nomination of President Trump's former attorney Emil Bove to serve as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Why it matters: The letter sounds the alarm over Bove's "egregious record" amid mounting controversies.
- The whistleblower, former Department of Justice attorney Erez Reuveni, told the department's internal watchdog and lawmakers in a letter last month that Bove told department attorneys to ignore court orders barring Trump from deporting immigrants.
- Bove, who represented Trump in both his classified documents and election obstruction cases, was also among the DOJ officials who pushed to drop bribery and fraud charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
What they're saying: The former judges described Bove's role in the mass firing of Justice Department prosecutors who investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack as "disqualifying" and his refusal to denounce the attack as "reprehensible."
- Also disqualifying, they said in the letter addressed to Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), was his leadership in the effort to drop the DOJ's prosecution of Adams, prompting several prosecutors to resign.
- "These are not actions of someone committed to equal justice under the law," the judges wrote. "Rather, they reflect a troubling pattern of abusing prosecutorial discretion to shield political allies."
- The DOJ did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
Zoom out: Beyond his record, the judges say it is "deeply inappropriate" for a president to nominate their own criminal defense attorney for a federal judgeship.
- They pointed to the president's Truth Social post announcing Bove's nomination, in which Trump wrote his former attorney would "do anything else that is necessary to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN."
- The former judges argued, "That statement underscores the peril of confirming a nominee whose principal qualification appears to be personal loyalty to the president."
Context: Among those who signed the letter was former Circuit Judge J. Michael Luttig, who was put on the bench by former President George H.W. Bush and advised former Vice President Mike Pence.
- Luttig endorsed former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.
- He was also joined by former circuit judges Timothy Lewis and Paul Michel, who were nominated to the bench by Bush and Ronald Reagan, respectively.
What we're watching: Proceeding with Bove's nomination, they write, "would be a disservice to the constitution, to law enforcement, and to the rule of law."
- The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote on Bove's nomination on Thursday, multiple outlets have reported.
Go deeper: Trump stacks DOJ with his former personal lawyers
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to show that former DOJ attorney Erez Reuveni is the only whistleblower involved.
