Attorneys for a fired DOJ official-turned-whistleblower released a series of emails and texts Thursday that they say bolster claims that Emil Bove — a top Trump appointee to the Justice Department now in line for a powerful judicial appointment — repeatedly suggested defying orders from courts to enforce the administration’s immigration policies.
The messages, from former immigration attorney Erez Reuveni, provide a real-time look at the internal scramble among top Justice Department and other administration officials as they sought to defend the legality of several rushed deportation efforts that have since become the subject of high-stakes legal challenges.
According to lawyers for Reuveni and Senate Democrats who released the messages, they also provide clear support for Reuveni’s initial whistleblower disclosure, which came just a day before Bove was set to appear for his confirmation hearing for a seat on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
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According to the complaint, Reuveni said that in a March 14 meeting on the eve of the administration carrying out its initial wave of deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, Bove allegedly remarked that DOJ would need to consider telling the courts “f— you” in response to any order that sought to enjoin the removals.
In a series of texts released by Reuveni from March 15 — the day that U.S. District judge James Boasberg ordered the administration to turn around two planes carrying migrants deported under the AEA before they arrived in El Salvador, Reuveni said, “This doesn’t end with anything but a nationwide injunction” before adding, “And a decision point on f— you.”
“It’s a question if drew gets out without a sanction,” another attorney replied, an apparent reference to Drew Ensign, a career DOJ official who was tasked with defending the administration’s AEA deportations in the Boasberg case.
Later in the evening, Reuveni again texted, “guess its find out time on the f— you,” an apparent reference, again, to Bove’s alleged remark.
While it’s unclear what impact the texts could have on Bove’s nomination, they could ultimately serve to provide Judge Boasberg with evidence to carry out his contempt proceedings against the Trump administration, which are currently on hold by a D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals panel.
The texts also provide insight into the Justice Department’s initial deliberations regarding the administration’s resistance to returning Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported in March to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison — despite a 2019 court order barring his deportation to that country due to fear of persecution — after the Trump administration claimed he was a member of the criminal gang MS-13, which his family and attorneys deny.
In one email, Reuveni argued that by defying an order to bring Abrego Garcia back from El Salvador, the administration risked “making very bad law here that jeopardizes many far more important initiatives of the current administration over one person.”
The messages also suggest that before Abrego Garcia’s case became the subject of nationwide attention, officials from the State Department and DHS appeared more than willing to facilitate his return — a sharp contrast to remarks from officials like Stephen Miller, who has repeatedly questioned Abrego Garcia’s character and labeled him a “terrorist.”
“I agree he should be brough back to the US if El Sal will release him back to us, and we should take steps to help ensure his safety in the meantime,” one State Department official said in an email.
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“I’m with Erez, we want to make sure everyone knows this gentleman is alright if it takes us time to get el sal to send him back,” a DHS lawyer replied.
During his confirmation hearing, Bove vigorously disputed Reuveni’s whistleblower complaint and denied he ever instructed department officials to defy court orders. When pressed, however, on whether he ever made the remark about potentially having to tell the courts, “f— you,”‘ Bove responded that he could not recall making such a statement.
In a statement Thursday responding to Reuveni’s release of the messages, Attorney General Pam Bondi described Reuveni as “a leaker asserting false claims seeking five minutes of fame” in order to sink Bove’s nomination.
“As Mr. Bove testified and as the Department has made clear, there was no court order to defy, as we successfully argued to the DC Circuit when seeking a stay, when they stayed Judge Boasberg’s lawless order,” Bondi said. “And no one was ever asked to defy a court order. This is another instance of misinformation being spread to serve a narrative that does not align with the facts.”
