Trump's defense lawyer faces battle to win appeals court seat

Emil Bove, President Trump’s former defense lawyer and now a pick to be a federal appeals court judge, vehemently denied Wednesday that he tried to get the Justice Department to ignore judges’ orders, as he fended off fierce Democratic opposition to his nomination.

Mr. Bove also told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee that he is not Mr. Trump’s “henchman” or “enforcer,” and he denied that there was a quid pro quo deal to drop the prosecution of New York Mayor Eric Adams, saying that decision was made on the law and policy.

His nomination to a seat on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has quickly become a major showdown for Mr. Trump, with Democrats roundly criticizing the pick as out of bounds, and even some conservative figures saying it represents an attempt to “weaponize” the judiciary.

Mr. Bove rejected all of those notions.

“There is a wildly inaccurate characterization of me in the mainstream media,” he said. “I am not anybody’s henchman, I am not an enforcer. I am a lawyer from a small town who never expected to be in an arena like this.”

The latest attempt to derail him came this week when Erez Reuveni, a fired Justice Department lawyer, filed a whistleblower complaint arguing Mr. Bove urged the government to “ignore” any court order trying to block deportation flights under the Alien Enemies Act.

“I have never advised a Department of Justice attorney to defy a court order,” Mr. Bove said.

Sen. Adam Schiff, California Democrat, specifically asked Mr. Bove, under oath, if he said the “ignore” remark, or told lawyers to tell the court to “f—- off.”

“I don’t recall,” Mr. Bove said.

Mr. Schiff asked whether he said the deportation planes needed to “take off no matter what.”

“I certainly conveyed the importance of the upcoming operation,” he said, though he said he couldn’t recall his exact language.

His answers did little to appease Democrats who have lined up against him.

“Mr. Bove has a complete disregard for the rule of law,” said Sen. Cory Booker, New Jersey Democrat.

Mr. Bove is currently the principal deputy attorney general. He served on Mr. Trump’s legal defense team, then joined the Justice Department.

He was serving as acting deputy attorney general in February when he signed the legal motion asking that the criminal case against Mr. Adams in New York be dismissed. He signed it after a half-dozen career lawyers resigned rather than attach their names to it, with some publicly arguing it was an abuse of the prosecution power.

Democrats say the dismissal — which a judge granted — was a quid pro quo to get Mr. Adams to allow greater immigration enforcement in New York.

“There was no quid pro quo,” Mr. Bove retorted, saying he concluded the prosecution had become too politicized and was interfering with administration goals.

Republicans said Democrats’ complaints about Mr. Bove rang hollow, given some of the nominees President Biden put forward when the Senate was controlled by the Democrats.

“Democrats are reaching for innuendo, rumor and political theater,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican. “They’re trying to paint mainstream Trump nominees as ’controversial’ to distract from the fact that their own nominees were so out of step.”

He said Mr. Bove’s record “is exceptional.”