Senate Republicans narrowly confirmed Emil Bove to the federal judiciary on Tuesday, pushing the former Trump attorney through to a lifetime appointment on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals via a 50-49 vote. The Democrats were joined in their opposition by Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Susan Collins, R-Maine.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the Republicans in the Senate should feel ashamed of the appointment.
“Shame on you,” Schumer said after the vote, per NBC. “This is a dark, dark day.”
Original story continues below.
A third whistleblower has spoken out against Justice Department official Emil Bove as the former attorney for President Donald Trump seeks a lifetime confirmation to the federal judiciary.
The latest anonymous informant claims that Bove misled Senate leaders at his confirmation hearing last month when discussing the DOJ’s decision to drop corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
The most recent whistleblower shared their evidence with Sen. Cory Booker’s office, according to The Washington Post. Booker and Sen. Adam Schiff sent a letter to William Blier, the Department of Justice’s acting inspector general, on Tuesday, calling for the DOJ to investigate the third whistleblower’s claims.
“In the event these whistleblower complaints and other reports have not already prompted investigations by your office, we urge you to undertake a thorough review of these disclosures and allegations,” the senators wrote in a letter obtained by POLITICO.
Trump nominated Bove to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit in June. Since his nomination, Bove has been accused of suggesting DOJ staffers defy court orders that could restrict the Trump administration’s immigration and deportation agenda. The first whistleblower, former DOJ attorney Erez Reuveni, eventually went public with his allegations. The second whistleblower confirmed Reuveni’s claims.
“Our client, whose identity we are protecting, has provided substantive, internal DOJ documents to the Inspector General, supporting former senior DOJ attorney-turned whistleblower Erez Reuveni’s allegations,” Whistleblower Aid said in a statement.
Start your day with essential news from Salon.
Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course.
Republicans have largely dismissed accusations against Bove.
A spokesman for Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the claims “reek of a bad faith attempt to sink a nominee.”
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., said Bove’s “commitment to the law is unimpeachable” in an op-ed for the Washington Reporter.
“The entire attack rests on an unsubstantiated and hypothetical allegation that Bove might have asked someone to defy a court order that never existed,” Schmitt wrote.
The Senate is expected to vote on Bove’s confirmation this week. Republican Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, are expected to oppose Bove’s confirmation. Two additional Republicans would need to defect for Democrats to successfully block the confirmation.
