DOJ Records Back Claim That Trump Judicial Nominee Urged Court Defiance

Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee released a trove of documents Thursday that back up a whistleblower’s claim that Emil Bove, a senior Department of Justice (DOJ) official, crudely told subordinates to defy court orders.

Senate Democrats obtained the batches of documents from Erez Reuveni, a veteran DOJ attorney who said he was fired earlier this year after refusing to mislead a federal judge and for discouraging the Trump administration from engaging in illegal conduct.

Last month, Reuveni alleged in a whistleblower complaint to lawmakers that Bove suggested the department should tell courts “f*** you” and ignore their orders to carry out President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportations.

Reuveni claimed that Bove made the comment just before Trump was set to invoke the Alien Enemies Act (AEA), an 18th-century wartime law, to fly hundreds of people from the U.S. to a Salvadoran megaprison called CECOT.

Trump earlier this year nominated Bove to serve as a life-tenured judge on the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He’s currently a top official in the deputy attorney general’s office but previously defended Trump when he was convicted of criminal charges over hush money paid to a porn star.

The documents sent to members of Congress include text and email exchanges between Reuveni and his colleagues and supervisors within the DOJ as well as officials from Homeland Security and State Department officials. 

In some of the exchanges, officials repeatedly nod to a “f*** you” and appear alarmed that the Trump administration defied court orders and that DOJ officials could be sanctioned for misleading federal judges.

“Guess [it’s] find out time on the ‘f*** you,’” reads a text message sent shortly before the first U.S. flights to El Salvador landed. 

“This doesn’t end with anything but a nationwide injunction and a decision point on the f*** you,” reads another.

During his nomination hearing before the Senate Judiciary hearing last month, Bove said he has never advised the DOJ to violate a court order. However, he did not directly deny making the “f*** you” comment, saying instead that he had “no recollection of saying anything of that kind.”

“I’ve certainly said things encouraging litigators at the department to fight hard for valid positions that we have to take in defense of our clients,” Bove said.

The documents released Thursday were requested by the panel’s Democrats during Bove’s hearing and were first shared with Politico. 

The Senate Judiciary Committee appears set to advance Bove’s nomination next week. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a key committee vote, said Wednesday he will “probably” support Bove for the judgeship.

Sen. Duck Durbin (D-Ill.), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement Thursday that Bove “belongs nowhere near the federal bench.”

“This is about more than a random f-bomb,” Durbin said. “This is a declaration of defiance of our courts at the highest level of our government by a man who now seeks a lifetime appointment to one of the highest courts in our land.”

“This vote will be a litmus test for Senate Judiciary Republicans,” he added.

The exchanges also bolster Reuveni’s claim that Drew Ensign, a deputy assistant attorney general who has become the legal face of Trump’s deportation efforts, misled Judge James Boasberg by stating in a court hearing that he did not know when the Trump administration would carry out the AEA flights.

“I can’t believe he said he doesn’t know,” one of Reuveni’s colleagues said. “He knows there are plans for AEA removals within the next 24 hours.”

In a recent interview with the New York Times, Reuveni accused the Trump administration of “thumbing its nose at the courts” and forcing DOJ attorneys to decide between upholding their ethical obligations or supporting Trump’s agenda.

Boasberg in April found there was probable cause to hold Trump administration officials in criminal contempt of court for showing “a willful disregard” toward his orders. 

The contempt proceedings have been temporarily halted by an appeals court. However, should they resume, some of the messages released Thursday will likely be key pieces of evidence against Trump officials. 

In a social media post, Attorney General Pam Bondi called Reuveni a “leaker asserting false claims” and accused him of “seeking five minutes of fame.”

“This is another instance of misinformation being spread to serve a narrative that does not align with the facts,” the attorney general claimed, adding that Reuveni was fired “because he violated his ethical duties to the department.”

The text and email exchanges also shed light on Maryland’s Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who the Trump administration also removed from the U.S. and sent to CECOT in violation of a court order.

An immigration judge had previously determined that Abrego Garcia should not be sent to his home country because he could be persecuted and tortured by members of Barrio 18, a gang that extorted his family.

After Abrego Garcia was sent to CECOT, the messages reveal that Trump administration officials were concerned that the facility could hold members of Barrio 18. 

“Does [El Salvador] even detain Barrio 18 in CECOT?” asked one official.

“Yes, our embassy has reported that they do,” another replied.

In email exchanges, Homeland Security and State Department officials appear to agree that Abrego Garcia was removed in error and were open to taking steps to protect him and eventually return him to the U.S.

“I agree he should be brought back to the U.S. if [El Salvador] will release him back to us, and we should take steps to help ensure his safety in the meantime,” reads one email.

In another email, an official asked if it was possible to get El Salvador to commit to protecting Abrego Garcia from members of Barrio 18.

“We want to make sure that everyone knows this gentleman is alright if it takes us time to get [El Salvador] to send him back.”

Abrego Garcia was eventually removed from CECOT and sent to another Salvadoran prison before being returned stateside last month to face smuggling charges. 

Abrego Garcia is currently being held in Tennessee. The Trump administration has threatened to remove him to a country he has no relation to if he is released from jail pending trial.