A former Department of Justice (DOJ) employee alleges in a whistleblower complaint that Emil Bove, the principal assistant deputy attorney general, made repeated attempts to willingly disobey or ignore court orders.
Bove, who is now a judicial nominee for the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, was accused in the complaint of using a “lack of candor, deliberate delay and disinformation” to violate injunctions against the Trump administration. The complaint, which was sent from the Government Accountability Project to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and the DOJ’s inspector general, was first reported by The New York Times.
Former government attorney Erez Reuveni alleges in the complaint that DOJ leaders in March and April planned to “resist court orders” that would slow Trump administration efforts to deport people in the country without legal status.
In a meeting on March 14 about deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members under the Alien Enemies Act, Bove, according to the complaint, “stressed to all in attendance that the planes needed to take off no matter what.” In the face of legal challenges, he proposed the department tell the courts “f— you” and “ignore” court orders blocking the Trump administration’s attempted removal of these individuals.
In the complaint, Reuveni cited three separate occasions on which the DOJ attempted to undermine the rule of law by presenting legal arguments with “no basis” while “misrepresenting” facts presented before the court.
Reuveni, the complaint says, tried to keep the DOJ’s actions in compliance with the law “and was thwarted, threatened, fired, and publicly disparaged for both doing his job and telling the truth to the court.”
He was suspended and ultimately terminated from a 15-year stint at the DOJ in April after, in a hearing in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, he agreed that the Maryland man was removed from the U.S. due to an “administrative error” by the federal government.
Bove in his time at DOJ ordered the dismissal of federal charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams in his corruption case. Before President Trump’s election, he served as Trump’s defense attorney when he was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Trump administration officials responded to the allegation by saying Reuveni is a “disgruntled employee” who issued false allegations about Bove to offset his Wednesday Senate confirmation hearing.
“Note that not a single individual except the disgruntled former employee agrees with the statements cavalierly printed by this purported news outlet,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote in a Tuesday post on the social platform X.
“I was at the meeting described in the article and at no time did anyone suggest a court order should not be followed,” he added.
Grassley criticized the complaint’s release and said it was politically motivated.
”Initial, unconfirmed whistleblower disclosures are meant to be confidential, not leaked to the media. The Deputy Attorney General has made clear these allegations are false and Mr. Reuveni himself has attested to the Trump administration’s lawful actions in a signed court brief. The political timing of this public attack could not be more obvious,” he said.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, shared heightened concerns about Bove’s nomination to serve as a federal judge amid reporting on the complaint.
“These serious allegations, from a career Justice Department lawyer who defended the first Trump Administration’s immigration policies, not only speak to Mr. Bove’s failure to fulfill his ethical obligations as a lawyer, but demonstrate that his activities are part of a broader pattern by President Trump and his allies to undermine the Justice Department’s commitment to the rule of law,” Durbin said in a statement.
“I want to thank Mr. Reuveni for exercising his right to speak up and bring accountability to Mr. Bove. And I implore my Senate Republican colleagues: do not turn a blind eye to the dire consequences of confirming Mr. Bove to a lifetime position as a circuit court judge.”
Raskin echoed his concerns.
“The extraordinary nature of the disclosure demands further investigation by Congress, and Judiciary Democrats are committed to getting to the truth on all of the Trump Administration’s efforts to turn the Department of Justice into a gangster state law firm devoted to violating the rights of the people, lying to federal judges, violating court orders, and persecuting those who uphold their oaths and speak the truth,” the Maryland lawmaker said in a Tuesday statement.
“Tomorrow, I urge my colleagues in the Senate to press Mr. Bove for answers at his confirmation hearing and demand he cooperate fully with congressional investigations.”
Updated at 5:35 p.m. EDT