Senate confirms former Trump lawyer for federal appeals judge

The Senate on Tuesday night voted 50-49 to confirm former Trump lawyer Emil Bove as a judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. The vote split mostly along party lines, with Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, joining Democrats in opposing Bove’s nomination. Bove received a lifetime seat on the court, which reviews cases from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and the Virgin Islands.

Bove, who previously represented President Donald Trump in three of his trials, faced several whistleblower complaints during the nomination process related to his work as a top Justice Department official.

• A former lawyer for the department, Erez Reuveni, accused Bove of planning to disregard court orders to fulfill Trump’s immigration goals, according to the New York Times.

• A whistleblower also claimed that Bove lied to senators in a hearing about his involvement in the dismissal of charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams.

Bove detailed and denied both allegations in a letter to Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

How did senators respond to the allegations against Bove? Sen. Grassley, R-Iowa, said he thoroughly vetted the claims and found them misleading. Bove didn’t appear to have done anything wrong, Grassley said. The Senate Judiciary chairman also accused Democrats of refusing to provide evidence until the last minute.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., accused Republicans of rushing a dangerous nominee through on short notice. In addition to repeating whistleblower claims, Schumer alleged that Bove was a sympathizer with the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the Capitol and was openly hostile to the rule of law.

Dig deeper: Read my report on whistleblower Erez Reuveni’s dismissal from the Justice Department.