Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are pushing the panel’s Republicans to swiftly call a hearing with a Justice Department (DOJ) whistleblower who has accused President Trump’s judicial nominee Emil Bove of suggesting the DOJ defy court orders.
Erez Reuveni, who was fired by the Justice Department shortly after he told a judge that detained migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported in error, was present in a meeting in which he alleged Bove said the DOJ may need to tell the courts “f‑‑‑ you” if judges sought to block deportations to a notorious Salvadoran prison.
Bove, a senior official in the deputy attorney general’s office, has since been nominated by Trump for a lifetime appointment to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.
“Mr. Reuveni has made credible allegations against Mr. Bove, which, if true, clearly disqualify him for a lifetime appointment to the federal bench. Thus, it is imperative that the Committee hear from Mr. Reuveni, under oath, before we vote on Mr. Bove’s nomination,” Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, wrote alongside other members.
“Calling Mr. Reuveni to testify under oath will allow members of this Committee to appraise the veracity of his claims while defending the Committee’s prerogative to assess Mr. Bove’s qualifications.”
The panel will weigh Bove’s nomination on Thursday.
Last week the committee released substantial documentation from Reuveni showing other DOJ employees present for the March 14 meeting referencing the expletive as well as the directive to defy the courts.
That includes allegations that another DOJ attorney, Drew Ensign, said he was unaware about the status of any flights despite preparations underway for two plans to take some 200 Venezuelan migrants to a facility in El Salvador.
As court hearings were underway, Reuveni relayed the order from a judge that the flights must be halted or turned around, but the flights nonetheless landed, and the men have spent months in a Salvadoran megaprison.
In an earlier hearing, Bove said he could not recall whether he used the expletive but sidestepped whether he gave orders to defy the court.
“I’ve certainly said things encouraging litigators at the department to fight hard for valid positions that we have to take,” Bove responded.
“I certainly conveyed the importance of the upcoming operation,” he added about the Alien Enemies Act flights.
Reuveni told The New York Times he is willing to testify before the panel.
The Justice Department has pushed back on the story, attacking Reuveni.
“This disgruntled employee is not a whistleblower — he’s a leaker asserting false claims seeking five minutes of fame, conveniently timed just before a confirmation hearing and a committee vote,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on the social platform X last week.
“This ‘whistleblower’ signed 3 briefs defending DOJ’s position in this matter and his subsequent revisionist account arose only after he was fired because he violated his ethical duties to the department.”
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