Press Releases
Accountable.US Statement on Senate Republicans Confirming Trump’s Defense Attorney Emil Bove to Lifetime Judicial Appointment
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senate Republicans just confirmed Emil Bove, one of President Donald Trump’s most controversial judicial nominees, to a lifetime appointment on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. In response, Accountable.US President Caroline Ciccone issued the following statement:
The confirmation of Emil Bove, Trump’s personal defense attorney and ‘hatchet man’, should send a chill down the spine of every American. Bove has shown total loyalty to Trump above the American people; refused to commit to recusing himself on cases involving the President; and is the subject of multiple whistleblower complaints. His extreme ideological record and ethical lapses have raised grave concerns about his integrity, but that didn’t stop Republican Senators from ramming his confirmation through, falling in line with Trump’s scheme of hand-selecting judges who vow personal loyalty over the rule of law. Bove’s confirmation sets the stage for the President and his allies to seek out favorable rulings, no matter how unconstitutional their actions may be. And that is a threat to fundamental freedoms everywhere.”
Emil Bove is a far-right ideologue who has come to be known as Trump’s “enforcer” and his “hatchet man” in the Justice Department, for forcing transfers of top nonpolitical officials opposing political interference and firing Capitol riot prosecutors.
In recent weeks, red flags have piled up as experts and former colleagues have sounded the alarm about his nomination. A recent Accountable.US report revealed that Bove has conferred with a top Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) official to discuss his qualifications, judicial philosophy, and confirmation preparation. ADF is a Southern Poverty Law Center-designated anti-LGBTQ+ hate group that has been instrumental in overturning Roe v. Wade and advancing right-wing legal positions nationwide – and has at least one case, Heaps v. Delaware Valley Regional High School Board of Education, that is set to come before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
Bove is also the subject of multiple whistleblower investigations for misconduct while at the Department of Justice. Earlier this month, an Accountable.US research report revealed that Bove has failed to preemptively recuse himself from any future case involving his former client and current boss, Donald Trump – raising serious concerns about his ability to rule impartially on the bench. Senate Democrats have demanded to hear from the Bove whistleblowers and protested when Senate Judiciary Chair Grassley, who previously voiced support for whistleblowers, refused and forced a vote on Bove against the committee rules.
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