Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) called on a Trump judicial nominee to provide more details about the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case as questions persist over the federal investigation into the convicted sex offender.
President Trump tapped Emil Bove, the principal deputy attorney general, for a lifetime appointment to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, but Democrats have been trying to tank the nomination.
“In light of the significant public interest in the Epstein files and the Trump DOJ and FBI’s shifting positions on transparency and public disclosure, records and information relating to your participation in this matter are relevant to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s ongoing review of your nomination,” Booker wrote in a letter to Bove on Wednesday.
The Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.
The DOJ announced last week that its investigation into Epstein’s sex trafficking case found that the disgraced financier kept no “client list” and died by suicide in prison in 2019, despite ongoing conspiracy theories about his death.
Trump admonished supporters on Wednesday for continuing to bring up the case.
“Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this ‘bulls‑‑‑,’ hook, line, and sinker,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “They haven’t learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years.”
Bove, who was a member of Trump’s personal criminal defense team, serves in the DOJ’s No. 3 role. He has faced whistleblower allegations over his handling of judicial rulings in immigration cases, which have prompted pushback from some Democratic senators.
Booker said he also wants information about Bove’s role in the handling of the Epstein case.
“Your involvement in the DOJ’s review of the Epstein files is a matter of significant
public importance given the contradictory statements by Attorney General [Pam] Bondi
concerning the existence of an Epstein ‘client list’ and DOJ’s stated commitment to
transparency,” Booker wrote in the letter to Bove. “Furthermore, it warrants scrutiny whether the DOJ intentionally withheld evidence related to the trafficking and sexual abuse of minors to protect certain individuals.”
He requested that Bove provide detailed information, including about conversations he had with Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, by early Thursday morning ahead of the Judiciary Committee’s expected vote on his nomination.
Bove is expected to have the votes to win confirmation if his nomination proceeds out of the Judiciary Committee and to the Senate floor, where Republicans hold a 53-47 majority.
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