00:00Thank you very much Chairman Grassley. This process with Emile Bovey started
00:05with my office as well as Senator Andy Kim saying to the White House we were
00:10willing to work with them to find someone. The President of the United
00:14States or the White House counsel completely violated the process we had
00:18agreed upon and thrust this judge onto the state of New Jersey, a judge, excuse
00:23me, a candidate, a nominee who we had already written letters of complaint
00:30about for his role in the prosecutor's office around issues around January 6th.
00:37Bovey directed Ed Martin to fire the January 6th defendants and that was
00:45something we were actively investigating before he was even being considered as
00:50this. Imagine any senator here having somebody put in as a circuit court
00:55nominee in their state when there is an active investigation going on about
01:01something as serious as the January 6th nominations. That is something that
01:04everybody here would consider a violation of process. Now I understand that there
01:11are folks here in good faith who are looking for issues and understanding but
01:15we should all know we have an obligation a duty constitutional duty to advise and
01:22consent that requires full and fair consideration. At this moment there are
01:27still unanswered questions surrounding this nominee evidence and data coming out
01:32at least one whistleblower who's come forward moving forward with this vote
01:39before this committee has addressed these issues and concerns would undermine the
01:45integrity of this process. Mr. Bovey's answers at his hearing and questions for
01:50the record raise serious questions as to whether he actually misled this committee
01:54even lied to this committee. Multiple members of this committee have pending
01:59requests for critical information regarding Mr. Bovey that must be fulfilled for us to
02:07responsibly and thoroughly evaluate this person's qualifications for a
02:10lifetime appointment on the federal bench. Let's start with a credible whistleblower
02:16who came forward with texts and emails that show that Mr. Bovey said F you to the
02:23courts and instructed federal officials to ignore court order. The whistleblower is a
02:2915-year career lawyer at the DOJ who served in Republican and Democratic
02:33administrations and defended the Trump administration's immigration policy during
02:37the first term. This is hardly someone that lacks credibility and legitimacy. And
02:42he came forward in a climate that we all know. When folks like this come forward they
02:46are targeted with hate, with threats, yet this person who has such integrity and such
02:53experience daringly, courageously step forward and this committee won't even hear
02:59from him? I'm hard-pressed to believe that someone who dedicated 15 years to public service would jeopardize the
03:06the career, the safety of themselves and their families for no reason.
03:11After learning that in 2018 members of the Federal Defense Bar in SDNY, many of whom were former prosecutors, took the unprecedented step in 2018 of alerting Mr. Bovey's supervisors of his unethical conduct.
03:31These are Democrats and Republicans, former federal prosecutors. Many of my colleagues on this
03:36committee requested information from the SDNY about any internal or external complaints against
03:41him during this tenure. And after weeks of outreach, we haven't gotten any response. Just yesterday did the DOJ
03:47respond only to refuse to honor the request. And yet we're moving forward. This committee is moving forward without all of these former prosecutors, federal prosecutors, federal defenders, their legitimate claims.
03:54Being heard. Finally, after receiving credible information, I sent a letter to Mr. Bovey requesting that he explain his role in
04:11reviewing and withholding information about the Epstein files. That's something that should be basic for this committee. Just give us the information. He held a leadership role at the Department of Justice since the beginning of the
04:13Trump administration. After months of public statements about quote unquote truckloads of documents in the Epstein files, the DOJ and the FBI suddenly decided that there's no need to do any kind of disclosures. There's nothing to see here. Look away.
04:28Which one is it? The public has a right to know and a person being nominated for one of the highest courts in our land who clearly played a role in this matter of grave national concern, including child sex trafficking, should actually, we should know what he knew and what he did.
04:58In this matter. I've requested responses to these questions by 9am this morning and we have heard nothing as a committee. And yet we're moving forward. Time and time again, there are relevant allegations made against this nominee by independent people, by Republicans, by career professionals, and we are not listening to them or demanding answers.
05:26These unanswered questions strike at the very core of whether Bovee is fit for a lifetime appointment on the federal bench. Does he respect the rule of law?
05:36They raise the alarming possibility that he deliberately lied and concealed critical information to these, to this committee.
05:44Mr. Chairman, there are federal prosecutors who held accountable those who attacked the U.S. Capitol and assaulted law enforcement on January 6th.
05:54I'm grateful for my colleagues on both sides of the aisle talking about the severity of this issue.
05:59Federal prosecutors, federal prosecutors, career professionals have raised strong reservations about Mr. Bovee, who had undermined their legitimate work to hold accountable people who did the most horrific acts of violence.
06:17Listen to these folks who are law enforcement professionals and what they're saying about Mr. Bovee, several of these prosecutors reached out to my Republican colleagues on this committee to share their grave concerns.
06:32But not one of them were met with by anyone on the other side of the aisle, not even to listen to these prosecutors who did their job, who faithfully served the rule of law, who were instruments and agents of justice.
06:47One would expect that their concerns should be heard, but unfortunately, not one meeting, almost as if they don't want to hear the truth or the facts or the details.
06:59How can you say you were concerned about what happened on January 6th and you won't listen to the people who spent months and months and months prosecuting those cases?
07:09How does that make sense to not even want to hear from these folks who have legitimate concerns, who've expressed grave concerns?
07:22I don't understand why we are willfully refusing to hear the legitimate concerns, not of politicians, not of elected officials, but of career folks, many of them Republicans, who've expressed grave concerns.
07:37One group literally said, and this isn't from the time that Trump nominated him, this is before he even served in the Department of Justice.
07:47A group of lawyers, federal prosecutors and defendants said that he is the prosecutorial version of a drunk driver.
07:58He is reckless and dangerous.
08:01And have we asked to hear from those folks?
08:04Here's a guy that was given the worst ever condemnation from a judge in the SDNY for withholding exculpatory evidence as a prosecutor.
08:20There are former prosecutors on this committee.
08:24Imagine that kind of flaunting of the rule of law.
08:28The grave ethical violations in that case.
08:34Imagine that we are about to put that person now to be a judge.
08:39That is stunning to me.
08:42There is no need to vote on this nominee today.
08:45It is a false urgency.
08:49My guess is the White House has issued orders to move this along as quickly as possible.
08:54Don't let these independent arbiters with legitimate insight into this nominee's qualifications, don't let them be heard.
09:04Dear God, we are hearing that there are other whistleblowers who are wondering if they should come forward.
09:09We're hearing that they are afraid to come forward.
09:12They have lawyered up, and we better get this thing through as quickly as possible before other people come through.
09:18With more time, we would get more answers.
09:24With more time, the things that Mr. Bovee has done at the DOJ and throughout his career would come to light, not by elected officials,
09:32but by legitimate people whose voices should be heard.
09:38Why are we refusing to hear them?
09:40Why are we silencing those people?
09:42It's going to get harder and harder for my colleagues to ignore the truth, so let's rush these things through.
09:48But let's hear a little bit of the truth.
09:49Mr. Chairman, I want to submit a number of letters into the record.
09:54First, an opposition letter of current and former state and federal prosecutors from around the country.
09:59These prosecutors state, quote, Bovee not only refused to hold accountable those who attacked our nation's capital
10:06and attempted to block our democratic process on January 6th, but he punished and dismissed career Justice Department employees
10:15who investigated and prosecuted that insurrection.
10:18Another letter I'd like to submit from almost 1,000 former DOJ prosecutors.
10:24This is unprecedented that almost 1,000 former DOJ prosecutors would write this committee and say that they are alarmed, quote,
10:32by DOJ's leadership's recent deviations from constitutional principles and institutional guardrails.
10:40They identified Mr. Bovee as the leader in this assault.
10:44They say it is intolerable to us that anyone who disgraces the Department of Justice would be promoted to one of the highest courts in the land.
10:51And the third letter I'd like to submit is from 75 former federal and state judges,
10:57including a former Third Circuit judge who was appointed by President Bush.
11:02Jurists are writing.
11:06This is what they say.
11:07Elevating a nominee whose record reflects a pattern of misconduct, disregard for lawful authority,
11:14and political entanglement would not only compromise the integrity of the courts,
11:18it would set a dangerous precedent that judicial power may be wielded in the service of personal fealty rather than constitutional duty.
11:27And lastly, Mr. Chairman, I'd like to submit a letter from former federal prosecutors
11:34who have collectively more than 450 years of experience trying cases.
11:40These former federal prosecutors, 450 of them, urge there is only one way this committee can determine
11:48whether Mr. Bovee has violated a court order.
11:51It's by hearing the testimony of Mr. Revenet, the whistleblower.
11:57Failure to take the time now to do so before voting on this nomination
12:02will forever brand this decision as rubber stamping.
12:07Mr. Chairman, I make a request.
12:10And as I understand the rules of this committee, I have the right to do that.
12:15Mr. Revenet, witness the DOJ leadership plan to defy court orders.
12:20I would like to say, ask under Rule 4 of this, Rules of the Committee,
12:25that the chairman is required to entertain a non-debatable motion to bring a matter before the committee for a vote.
12:32I'm making a motion to bring this matter to a vote.
12:35I request a roll call of this committee so that the record may show where each member stands
12:42on allowing a whistleblower, an independent prosecutor who worked in Democrat and Republican administrations
12:50for 15 years, who courageously stepped forward, who put his life at risk,
12:57who is being threatened right now, who felt like it was worth to come forward to speak to this committee.
13:02I'd like to request that before voting on this nominee, we hear from this nominee.
13:09I'd like a roll call vote on that according to Rule 4 of this committee.
13:13The clerk will call the roll.
13:15Mr. Grant.
13:16Well, before you call the roll, first of all, I do believe that it's not on the agenda
13:29what you've requested, and we won't, things that I haven't previewed ahead of time
13:38are on the agenda, so I'm going to rule you out of order.
13:41But, sir, we can, in all sincerity, we could take the time.
13:46We could set the whistleblower coming next week.
13:48It would give us more time and then enough time to review all of the things that you're concerned about.
13:53The level of gravity of the charges of an independent prosecutor for 15 years
13:58who literally has put his life on the line by coming forward,
14:02we could do the necessary work to prepare for such a hearing to hear from this prosecutor.
14:07Before I call on Senator Whitehouse, let me say that you requested put things in the record.
