Topline
Federal appeals court Judge Emil Bove is coming under scrutiny for attending President Donald Trump’s speech on Tuesday, as a judicial advocacy group filed a complaint alleging the judge—who previously served as Trump’s personal attorney—violated ethics rules meant to ensure judges remain impartial.
Key Facts
Bove attended Trump’s event in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, telling reporters at the event he was “just here as a citizen coming to watch the president speak.”
Advocacy group Fix the Court filed a formal complaint Wednesday arguing Bove’s attendance violated the Code of Conduct for federal judges, which says judges “should avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all activities” and “should refrain from political activity.”
Trump went to Pennsylvania to deliver remarks on the economy and affordability, ultimately delivering a lengthy speech that resembled his campaign rallies and included controversial comments like calling African nations “s–thole countries” and describing Somalia as “filthy, dirty, disgusting, ridden with crime.”
While there’s “no prohibition” against federal judges attending events where the president is speaking, Bove did not leave the event after Trump’s comments turned more partisan, Fix the Court President Gabe Roth noted, arguing it should have been “obvious” to the judge “that this was a highly charged, highly political event that no federal judge should have been within shouting distance of.”
Bove was appointed to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals after holding a high-ranking position at the Justice Department, where he drew controversy for his handling of the criminal charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams and for allegedly directing DOJ officials to ignore a court order on immigration, which Bove has denied.
What To Watch For
Fix the Court’s complaint asks for Bove to “be admonished for his behavior” in attending the rally, and the Chief Judge on the Third Circuit and the Judicial Council—which review complaints against judges—should impose “any other discipline” against Bove they see fit. Federal judges can face a range of punishments for violating the code of conduct, including being censured, forced into retirement or being barred from hearing cases for a fixed amount of time. Only Congress would be able to actually impeach a judge from the federal bench, though the Judicial Council could recommend that step be taken.
Tangent
The controversy over Bove’s rally attendance comes as the federal judge is also still facing scrutiny over whether he and other Trump officials violated a court order prohibiting them from carrying out deportation flights to El Salvador. Judge James Boasberg is conducting an inquiry into whether officials intentionally violated the order, moving forward with the investigation in recent weeks after the issue had previously been tied up in appeals court. The judge has ordered former DOJ attorney-turned-whistleblower Erez Reuveni to testify on Dec. 15, after Reuveni publicly accused Bove and others at the DOJ of intentionally flouting court rulings. Reuveni alleged Bove—then serving as the Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General—told DOJ officials in a meeting that “the planes needed to take off no matter what,” and that if a court blocked the deportation flights, “DOJ would need to consider telling the courts ‘f–k you’ and ignore any such order.” Bove and the DOJ have denied Reuveni’s allegations, and Bove submitted a declaration to the court in the case that was made public Monday, which said only that he “contributed to privileged legal advice” that was given to the Department of Homeland Security about the flights.
Key Background
Bove was on Trump’s personal legal team during the president’s years out of office, representing Trump in the president’s criminal trial in Manhattan. The attorney previously worked as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, where he co-led its national security unit and narcotics unit, before being elevated to a top role at DOJ when Trump took office earlier this year. Bove is one of several former Trump attorneys who were given roles in the second Trump administration after representing the president in court, but was the first to be nominated as a federal judge, sparking widespread criticism from the left that he would not be able to rule impartially in cases involving Trump. Bove was narrowly confirmed by the Senate in a 50-49 vote. The accusations of Bove participating in “political activity” by attending the Trump event come as Trump and his allies have routinely criticized judges appointed by Democratic presidents for being politically biased against him, claiming court rulings against his administration are acts of “judicial activism” and repeatedly attacking judges overseeing cases against the president.
Further Reading