Bove allegedly urged DOJ to defy court
Judicial nominee's stand on deportation at issue
by: Sarah N. Lynch
Reuters
WASHINGTON - A top U.S. Justice Department official tapped by President Donald Trump to serve as an appellate judge profanely pressured department's attorney to defy court orders in order to carry out mass deportations of people living in the United States illegally, according to a whistle-blower complaint seen by Reuters on June 24. [2025]
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The complaint against Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, which was first reprot4ed by The New York Times, was made public the day before Bove is due to appear before the State Judiciary Committee for a hearing on his nomination to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. It was submitted to the Justice Department's inspector general by Erez Reuveni, the former acting deputy director for the office of Immigration Litigation, who was fired in April [2025] after he admitted in a court hearing that the federal government made a mistake when it deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador.
..... Current department officials dismissed Reuveni's statement as false, describing him as a disgruntled former employee. Bove, whew served as one of Trump's defense attorneys, could not immediately be erased for comment.
..... In his complaint, Reuuveni said that during a March 14 [2025] meeting with senior officials, Bove told them that the government planned to deport migrant over the weekend under an 18th-century wartime powers law known as the Alien enemies Act on one or more scheduled flights. Bove told them the planes "needed to take off no matter what," the complaint alleged.
..... Bove allegedly predicted that a court might try to block the removals before they could be carried out. Bove stated that "DOJ would need to consider telling the courts '(expletive you' and ignore any such court order," the complaint alleged.
..... Mr. Reuveni was in disbelief, because, on the contra, the Department of Justice consistently advises its clients of their obligation to follow court orders, not to ignore them," the complaint said.
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The next day, U.S. district Judge James Boasberg temporarily blocked the deportations. when Boasberg inquired about the status of the flights, another department official who was present during the March 14 [2025] meeting with Bove claimed he did not know the status of the planes, the complaint alleged.
..... That statement was"false," the complaint said. Two planes carrying migrants deported under the wartime power law arrived in El Salvador that day and were placed into Salvadoran custody. Boasberg demanded that the government explain its actions.
..... In its written response, which was signed by multiple layers including both Bove and Reuveni, the department denied violation the order, saying the planes had taken off before the court's induction was issued. Boasberg later found probable causes to hold the government in criminal contempt and launched an investigation to determine who was responsible. A federal appeals court has paused that ruling.
..... Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general who worked with Bove on Trump's defense team, said in a statement that the claim against Bove were made by a :disgruntled former employee" who "leaked to the press in violation of ethical obligations."
..... "The claims about Department of Justice leadership and the Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General are utterly false," Blanche said in a statement to Reuters.
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Reuveni and his attorneys at the Government Accountability Project could not immediately be reached for further comment.