00:00Thank you, Madam Chair.
00:03I want to begin with a couple of statements, not specific to the nominee before us, Mr.
00:08Bovee, but general observations as we've had hearings of nominees and on issues since the
00:16beginning of the year.
00:17It's become clear that President Trump clearly has one litmus test when selecting people
00:24to a point.
00:26It's not experience.
00:27It's not dedication to our country or the rule of law.
00:32It's whether or not a potential nominee is willing to bend or ignore the law to satisfy
00:40the president's whims.
00:43Now, I understand that elections have consequences, and one consequence is that a president who
00:49is elected will get to nominate judges for the duration of his term or her term.
00:55But selecting someone with such a deep track record of vindictive, duplicitous behavior of
01:05abuse of power that is and must be treated as unacceptable.
01:10From Mr. Bovee's time with the Southern District of New York, to his time representing Donald
01:16Trump, to his time at the Trump Justice Department, it's been demonstrated that he will not let
01:23the law stand in the way of doing what he wants.
01:26That's why as soon as Mr. Bovee joined the Justice Department in an acting, unconfirmed capacity, he began
01:35an effort to purge the Department of Justice of perceived, quote, enemies, like the January
01:416th prosecutors.
01:43He even called the January 6th prosecutions, quote, a grave national injustice.
01:49And ordered the FBI to produce a list of everyone involved in them.
01:57Never mind the fact that he had previously worked on January 6th prosecutions while at
02:02the Southern District of New York.
02:04And that's why he ordered Southern District of New York prosecutors to dismiss criminal charges
02:09against New York Mayor Eric Adams in exchange for Mayor Adams helping to implement President
02:15Trump's radical immigration enforcement plan.
02:19Mr. Bovee's actions in this case let eight prosecutors, eight, including the interim U.S.
02:26attorney, Daniel Sassoon, who had clerked for Justice Scalia, to resign.
02:35But instead of firing him, Donald Trump plans to give him a lifetime appointment to the Third
02:41Circuit Court of Appeals in New Jersey.
02:43Let's state that Mr. Bovee has very, very little ties to.
02:51Now, it's not just Democrats who are concerned.
02:53Conservative judicial activists and former Republican staff member of this committee, Ed Wallen, who
03:01wrote that Bovee has been called, quote, a savage and likened him to a, quote, mafia henchman.
03:09Not my words, just quoting what's been submitted to this committee for consideration.
03:13The Wall Street Journal published the editorial urging this committee to ask questions about
03:18Bovee's qualifications for this seat.
03:21They wrote, quote, does Emil Bovee have the right judicial temperament?
03:27Does he have a judicial philosophy?
03:30It's seemingly clear that the more we learn, the answer is no.
03:39But we're here to ask questions.
03:42And I do have a couple of questions in my time remaining.
03:46Mr. Bovee, can you share with us how many of the prosecutors assigned to the Capitol siege
03:51section were fired after you sent your memo on staffing at the Department of Justice?
03:57I don't recall.
04:01Ballpark?
04:03I don't recall.
04:05All right.
04:05Well, I'll submit that in the form of a question for the record to allow you time to jog your
04:11memory banks and try to give us a number or at least an estimate.
04:15Can you tell me how many January 6th rioters President Trump pardoned?
04:19No, I don't recall.
04:22Okay.
04:23Well, that actually kind of makes sense because I don't think that when asked the president
04:26himself couldn't give an exact number.
04:29When asked, his response was, quote, it would be very, very cumbersome to go and look.
04:36You know how many people were talking about?
04:391,500 people.
04:40To think that on the first day in office, he would have considered case by case that volume
04:47of files to make the determination that they should be pardoned, that's clearly not believable.
04:57And we know that dozens of those pardoned had prior criminal records, including rape, sexual
05:04abuse of a minor, domestic violence, and more.
05:10Yes, I'm talking about the January 6th rioters.
05:14I'm going to end with this, Madam Chair.
05:16I can tell you that a long-serving prosecutor with the D.C.
05:20United States Attorney's Office thought that it sent a message that, quote, political violence
05:27toward a political goal is acceptable in a modern democratic society.
05:32Mr. Bovee, you contributed to these actions.
05:35What do you think this, what kind of message do you think this sends to the American people?
05:39I think that the president, in his exclusive discretion under the Constitution.
05:49My question is, what message does this send to the American people?
05:52The pardoning of January 6th rioters, many with prior criminal convictions.
05:58And you can answer briefly.
05:59I think that's a question that calls for political views.
06:01And under the canons, I'm not able to take a position.
06:04I thought we were talking about public safety and the rule of law.
06:06Thank you, Madam Chair.
06:07Chair Schiff.
Comments