A whistleblower complaint reviewed by Reuters has alleged that Emil Bove, a senior U.S. Justice Department official nominated by President Donald Trump to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, used coercive and profane language to pressure department attorneys into defying court orders to carry out mass deportations.
The complaint, first reported by The New York Times, comes just a day before Bove is scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearing. It was filed with the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General by Erez Reuveni, a former acting deputy director in the Office of Immigration Litigation, who was dismissed in April after he admitted in court that the federal government had unlawfully deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador.
While current DOJ officials have dismissed Reuveni’s allegations as false and characterized him as a disgruntled former employee, the complaint details a March 14 meeting during which Bove allegedly insisted that deportation flights proceed under the Alien Enemies Act, an obscure 18th-century wartime statute. According to the complaint, Bove said the planes “needed to take off no matter what” and warned that if a court attempted to block the removals, the Department of Justice should consider telling the courts “‘f*** you’ and ignore any such court order.”
“Mr. Reuveni was in disbelief, because, on the contrary, the Department of Justice consistently advises its clients of their obligation to follow court orders, not to ignore them,” the complaint stated.
On March 15, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued a temporary injunction halting the deportations. When the court inquired about the status of the flights, a DOJ official present at the March 14 meeting with Bove claimed ignorance—an assertion Reuveni alleges was knowingly false. That same day, two aircraft carrying deported migrants reportedly landed in El Salvador, and the individuals were transferred to local authorities.
Judge Boasberg subsequently demanded an explanation. In a court filing signed by both Bove and Reuveni, the Justice Department denied violating the court’s order, asserting that the planes had departed before the injunction was issued. However, Boasberg later found probable cause for criminal contempt and initiated an inquiry to identify those responsible—a ruling now on hold pending a federal appeals court review.
Todd Blanche, a deputy attorney general and former member of Trump’s defense team who has worked closely with Bove, defended him in a statement to Reuters: “The claims about Department of Justice leadership and the Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General are utterly false,” Blanche said, attributing the allegations to a “disgruntled former employee” acting in breach of ethical standards by leaking to the press.
Reuveni and his legal representatives from the Government Accountability Project have yet to respond to further requests for comment.
Senator Dick Durbin, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s top-ranking Democrat, expressed grave concern about Bove’s conduct. “Bove has abused his position in numerous ways,” Durbin said, urging his Republican colleagues not to “turn a blind eye to the dire consequences of confirming Mr. Bove to a lifetime position as a circuit court judge.”
