DOJ Official Rejects Whistleblower Allegations Against Judicial Nominee Ahead Of Confirmation Hearing: ‘Hit Piece’

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche disputed whistleblower allegations Tuesday about Department of Justice (DOJ) official Emil Bove’s willingness to follow court orders, calling reports a “hit piece” ahead of his confirmation hearing.

Erez Reuveni, who was recently terminated after working for nearly 15 years at the DOJ, alleged in a whistleblower disclosure obtained by the New York Times that Principal Assistant Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove suggested the department may need to disregard court orders. Bove’s nomination hearing for a judgeship on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled for Wednesday.

Reuveni, previously acting deputy director for the DOJ’s Office of Immigration Litigation, alleges in his disclosure that Bove “stated that DOJ would need to consider telling the courts ‘fuck you’ and ignore any such court order” restricting the removal of illegal migrants under the Alien Enemies Act at a March 14 meeting.

“Mr. Reuveni perceived that others in the room looked stunned, and he observed awkward, nervous glances among people in the room,” the disclosure states. “Silence overtook the room. Mr. Reuveni and others were quickly ushered out of the room.”

Blanche disputed the allegations on X, saying the New York Times story was based on “falsehoods purportedly made by a disgruntled former employee and then leaked to the press in violation of ethical obligations.”

“Note that not a single individual except the disgruntled former employee agrees with the statements cavalierly printed by this purported news outlet,” he said. “I was at the meeting described in the article, and at no time did anyone suggest a court order should not be followed. This is disgusting journalism. Planting a false hit piece the day before a confirmation hearing is something we have come to expect from the media, but it does not mean it should be tolerated.”

Reuveni’s employment was terminated after he refused to sign onto an appellate brief stating that Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia “was a member of a terrorist organization,” according to his disclosure.

“What has not been reported to date are Mr. Reuveni’s attempts over the course of three weeks and affecting three separate cases to secure the government’s compliance with court orders and his resistance to the internal efforts of DOJ and White House leadership to defy them through lack of candor deliberate delay and disinformation,” the disclosure alleges. “Discouraging clients from engaging in illegal conduct is an important part of the role of lawyer Mr. Reuveni tried to do so and was thwarted, threatened, fired, and publicly disparaged for both doing his job and telling the truth to the court.”

A spokesperson for Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley told the Daily Caller News Foundation that “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 spokesperson continued. “The political timing of this public attack could not be more obvious.”

Justice Connection, a group founded by former DOJ career attorneys, also published a video Tuesday opposing Bove’s nomination. Democratic Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin told Republicans on Tuesday not to “turn a blind eye to the dire consequences of confirming Mr. Bove to a lifetime position as a circuit court judge.”

White House spokesman Harrison Fields said Bove is “an incredibly talented legal mind and a staunch defender of the U.S. Constitution who will make an excellent circuit court judge” in a statement to the DCNF.

“Bove is unquestionably qualified for the role and has a career filled with accolades, both academically and throughout his legal career, that should make him a shoo-in for the Third Circuit,” Fields said. “The president is committed to nominating constitutionalists to the bench who will restore law and order and end the weaponization of the justice system, and Emil Bove fits that mold perfectly.”

(Featured Image Media Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Coolcaesar)

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