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Emile Bove forced his criticism of President Donald Trump’s “hitchman” or “enforcer” during a Senate hearing on Wednesday.
Bove, the Department of Justice (DOJ)’s top division (DOJ) division that is fighting for a lifelong role in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, said media reports have painted “very inaccurate caricatures” of him.
“I am not a minions of anyone. I am not an enforcer,” Bove said. “I’m a small town lawyer who never expected to be in an arena like this.”
Bove served as a key lawyer for Trump’s personal defense team during the president’s four criminal prosecutions. Prior to that, he was a prosecutor in the Southern District of New York for 10 years leading drug trafficking and terrorism cases.
Official face test of top DOJs in the Senate on nominations to become federal judges
Emil Bove, the candidate for President Donald Trump’s Third Circuit Judge, is sworn in before testifying at a Senate Judiciary Committee nomination hearing on June 25, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
But by joining DOJ leadership, including dismissing New York Mayor Eric Adams’ corruption charges and dismissing warnings from personnel lawsuits by FBI employees who worked in the January 6 case, Bove’s formidable attitude and controversial decision sparked a nomination on the powerful appeals court bench and attracted high scrutiny.
Finishing a series of reports examining these controversies was the whistleblower’s claims that he leveled on Tuesday a day before Bove’s nomination hearing.
Whistleblower Erez Roubeni, a 15-year veteran of the division fired for this year’s cloth redrawing, claimed that Bove had warned during an internal meeting that he might have to say “f*** you.”
Senate Democrats who are widely opposed to Bove’s nomination have grilled candidates for the claim. Bove said he never advised anyone to violate the judge’s orders.
“Did you not make those comments during that meeting?” Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. , was pushed.
Trump nominates former defense attorney Emil Bove for a vacant federal court of appeal
Senator Adam Schiff, D-Calif. , depicted at the hearing. (Drew Anger/Getty Images)
“I did not suggest that we should consider ignoring the court’s order. At the time of that meeting there was no court order to discuss,” Bove said.
Schiff asked if Bove had said it in relation to the court and repeated the profan phrase several times.
“I can’t remember,” Bove said.
“You don’t remember that,” Schiff replied incredibly.
Other Democrats pushed Bove to Adams Saga, led in February by a handful of high-level DOJ employees who resigned in protest of Bove’s order to dismiss the mayor’s federal corruption charges. The judge ultimately dropped Adams’ charges in response to Bove’s request, but not before he pulled away the DOJ to give him a “inconsistent” justification to remove the case.
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Emile Bove III will speak with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche prior to a confirmation hearing at the Senate Judiciary Committee, located in the Hart Senate Office building on Wednesday, June 25th, 2025.
Bove is accused by an exiled lawyer for asking the court to abandon Adams’ charges in exchange for the mayor’s cooperation with the Trump administration’s immigration policy. Bove denied the allegation when he pressed it.
“The suggestion that there was a kind of Quid Pro Quo was just wrong,” Bove said.
Despite the Democratic concerns and concerns expressed by some defense attorneys who said they had negative experiences with the candidate, Bove has loyal supporters. The Republican senator has not expressed his opposition to him at this stage. This is a sign that he can ultimately be seen even in narrow.
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In an interview before the hearing, Assistant Attorney General Todd Blanche, Bove’s longtime friend and colleague, told Fox News Digital that Bove is a “freak lawyer.”
Blanche said he reported that Bove’s ineligibility was “distorted” and that it was “easy” to set him up in the 3rd Circuit.
Ashley Oliver is a reporter for Fox News Digital and Fox Business, covering the Department of Justice and legal affairs. Email story tips to Ashley.oliver@fox.com.
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