Dick Durbin Relentlessly Rips Emil Bove Over Accusations Of ‘Abusive’ & ‘Bellicose’ Management Style

Forbes Breaking News

During a Senate Judiciary Hearing on Wednesday, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) criticized Emil Bove, President Trump's nominee to be a judge in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

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00:0069 were convicted of crimes related directly to that question.

00:05President Trump gave them and over 1,000 other rioters a full pardon as one of his first acts of office.

00:14Mr. Bovee called these convictions, quote, a grave injustice.

00:19Mr. Bovee also ordered the FBI to compile a list of all current and former FBI employees

00:26who were assigned, quote, at any time, close quote, to a January 6th investigation,

00:32quote, to determine whether any additional personnel actions are necessary.

00:38Political retribution at this high level of our government has seldom been seen.

00:43This was done and executed by the nominee.

00:47There's more.

00:48Mr. Bovee personally intervened to strike a corrupt bargain with the New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

00:56You read about it.

00:57We've all heard the quotes.

00:59He wanted to drop the prosecution of Mayor Adams in exchange for Adams' promise to cooperate

01:05with President Trump's immigration policies.

01:08In response, several professional prosecutors resigned, including the U.S. attorney herself,

01:17a staunch conservative who clerked for Justice Scalia and was appointed by President Trump.

01:22She resigned over Mr. Bovee's suggested deal.

01:27The lead prosecutor in the Adams case also resigned.

01:31Hagan Scotton, who earned two bronze stars in Iraq, clerk for Chief Justice Roberts and Justice

01:37Kavanaugh, wrote to Mr. Bovee, and I quote,

01:40I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, enough of a coward, to file your motion.

01:47But it was never going to be me.

01:51And according to a whistleblower complaint the committee received yesterday,

01:54Mr. Bovee has suggested that the Justice Department might need to say F you to federal courts

02:01and ignore federal court orders with which this administration disagrees.

02:06Ladies and gentlemen, this gets to the heart of our democracy and the rule of law.

02:11As Senator Kennedy of Louisiana has rightly reminded previous nominees, and I quote,

02:16don't ever, ever take the position that you're not going to follow an order of the federal court ever.

02:23End of quote.

02:25These serious allegations against Mr. Bovee came not from the ACLU,

02:30but from a career Justice Department lawyer who was promoted by the Trump administration

02:34and is best known for defending the first Trump administration's immigration policies in court.

02:41He has now put his reputation on the line to inform this committee on the judiciary

02:46of what Mr. Bovee's wrongdoing was, and predictably he's being attacked by the president's MAGA lapdogs.

02:54In addition to Mr. Bovee's unethical conduct, there are serious questions about his temperament.

03:00According to public reporting, Mr. Bovee was the subject of an internal investigation

03:06over his, quote, abusive, quote, bellicose management style

03:11while serving as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York.

03:15Just what we need in a federal judge with a lifetime appointment.

03:20His fellow prosecutors noted that Mr. Bovee has a quick temper, and he belittled his co-workers.

03:27In one instance, his poor management contributed to a botched case

03:31in which an individual convicted of serious charges related to evading foreign sanction was allowed to go free.

03:39My Republican colleagues may brush these examples aside.

03:42They may say Democrats have an axe to grind against Mr. Bovee

03:46because of the role he's playing in the president's agenda.

03:49But the fact remains that complaints about Mr. Bovee's temperament and candor

03:54long predate his association with President Trump.

03:57I'd also like to address the process by which Mr. Bovee was selected for this New Jersey seat.

04:02The White House engaged with Senator Booker and Senator Kim on this vacancy for only three months

04:09before announcing Mr. Bovee's nomination.

04:12And notably, the White House did not indicate it was considering Mr. Bovee

04:16until two months into that process.

04:19Compare that to Biden White House's approach with Republican members of the committee.

04:22Let's do the White House.

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