{"id":127000,"date":"2025-07-17T09:03:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T17:03:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/07\/17\/over-90-former-doj-lawyers-sign-letter-opposing-emil-bove-nomination-oh-wait-sorry-thats-900\/"},"modified":"2025-07-17T09:03:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T17:03:08","slug":"over-90-former-doj-lawyers-sign-letter-opposing-emil-bove-nomination-oh-wait-sorry-thats-900","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/07\/17\/over-90-former-doj-lawyers-sign-letter-opposing-emil-bove-nomination-oh-wait-sorry-thats-900\/","title":{"rendered":"Over 90 Former DOJ Lawyers Sign Letter Opposing Emil Bove Nomination\u2026 Oh, Wait, Sorry That\u2019s *900*"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
(Photo by Angela Weiss \u2013 Pool\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dating back to his first term, Donald Trump\u2019s judicial nominations included nominees who were deeply unqualified<\/a>, deeply unserious<\/a>, and deeply problematic<\/a>. But none of them \u2014 not the ghost hunters<\/a> or the blog boys<\/a> \u2014 managed to bring over 900 former Justice Department lawyers together in protest. So, congratulations to Emil Bove for setting a new record for judicial nihilism!<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is intolerable to us that anyone who disgraces the Justice Department would be promoted to one of the highest courts in the land, as it should be intolerable to anyone committed to maintaining our ordered system of justice,\u201d reads the letter<\/a> signed by nearly 1000 DOJ alumni. We\u2019d already seen former judges speak out against this nomination<\/a>, but the sheer number of people involved in this letter is absurd. It\u2019s like the final battle of Endgame but with stronger opinions about PACER.<\/p>\n

Bove, Trump\u2019s former personal attorney, faces his first Senate confirmation process as a nominee for a Third Circuit vacancy. It\u2019s a first for the powerful DOJ official because he seized an astonishing amount of authority in a role that never required Senate confirmation. Indeed, he reportedly functionally ran the Department during those exciting times when Trump flirted with putting Matt Gaetz \u2014 of all people! \u2014 in the Attorney General\u2019s chair.<\/p>\n

According to a whistleblower report<\/a> from a career DOJ attorney, it was Bove telling government lawyers they should tell federal judges \u201cfuck you\u201d in response to injunctions barring the administration\u2019s haphazard deportations. Like the ones we know sent people to El Salvadoran slave camp by mistake<\/em>.<\/p>\n

More damning, if less colorful, is the corroborating memo<\/a> suggesting that Bove ultimately approved the \u201cwhat if we say the law doesn\u2019t apply because the plane was over international waters<\/a>\u201d strategy. <\/p>\n

And don\u2019t forget the Eric Adams prosecution that led everyone involved with a functional conscience to resign<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

When Mr. Bove directed prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) and DOJ\u2019s Public Integrity Section to dismiss the case against New York Mayor Eric Adams, his actions gave the appearance of impermissible political considerations stemming from President Trump\u2019s immigration agenda. Former SDNY prosecutor Hagan Scotten encapsulated the problem in his resignation letter: \u201cNo system of ordered liberty can allow the Government to use the carrot of dismissing charges, or the stick of threatening to bring them again, to induce an elected official to support its policy objectives.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Expletives and questionable ethics are features not bugs for Trump, now decades into his pursuit of someone to replace Roy Cohn in his fixer firmament. Bove\u2019s commitment to the dime store Roy Cohn bit (down to cultivating the look) earned him this nomination, jumping the queue over the army of Federalist Society hacks lined up for the post. Against all odds, we look back at the FedSoc era wistfully<\/a> because while the judges were on balance unqualified and awful, several of them are actually good! This new era of Trump just elevating the lawyers who ingratiate themselves to him personally \u2014 Bove, Pam Bondi, Todd Blanche, Jeanine Pirro, Alina Habba, Ed Martin \u2014 removes even the fig leaf of independence from the process. The Apprentice<\/em> but with the rule of law at stake.<\/p>\n

And when the goal is \u201cmaking the boss happy no matter what\u201d you end up with \u201cwe can send people to slave camp as long as we fly over the Gulf of Mexico, stet, AMERICA\u201d and you eventually end up with a court system untethered from even the dubious intellectual guardrails of \u201ctextualism\u201d or \u201coriginalism.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the era of pure patronage. Unless this Judiciary Committee steps up and puts a stop to it. <\/p>\n

They won\u2019t. Even with 900 new reasons why they should.<\/p>\n

(Full letter on next page\u2026)<\/em><\/p>\n

Earlier<\/strong>: Trump Reportedly Eyes Emil Bove For Third Circuit, As We\u2019re Now Wistful For Era Of Random Unqualified FedSoc Hacks<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"Headshot\"Joe Patrice<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. Feel free to\u00a0email<\/a> any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Over 90 Former DOJ Lawyers Sign Letter Opposing Emil Bove Nomination\u2026 Oh, Wait, Sorry That\u2019s *900*<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
(Photo by Angela Weiss \u2013 Pool\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dating back to his first term, Donald Trump\u2019s judicial nominations included nominees who were deeply unqualified<\/a>, deeply unserious<\/a>, and deeply problematic<\/a>. But none of them \u2014 not the ghost hunters<\/a> or the blog boys<\/a> \u2014 managed to bring over 900 former Justice Department lawyers together in protest. So, congratulations to Emil Bove for setting a new record for judicial nihilism!<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is intolerable to us that anyone who disgraces the Justice Department would be promoted to one of the highest courts in the land, as it should be intolerable to anyone committed to maintaining our ordered system of justice,\u201d reads the letter<\/a> signed by nearly 1000 DOJ alumni. We\u2019d already seen former judges speak out against this nomination<\/a>, but the sheer number of people involved in this letter is absurd. It\u2019s like the final battle of Endgame but with stronger opinions about PACER.<\/p>\n

Bove, Trump\u2019s former personal attorney, faces his first Senate confirmation process as a nominee for a Third Circuit vacancy. It\u2019s a first for the powerful DOJ official because he seized an astonishing amount of authority in a role that never required Senate confirmation. Indeed, he reportedly functionally ran the Department during those exciting times when Trump flirted with putting Matt Gaetz \u2014 of all people! \u2014 in the Attorney General\u2019s chair.<\/p>\n

According to a whistleblower report<\/a> from a career DOJ attorney, it was Bove telling government lawyers they should tell federal judges \u201cfuck you\u201d in response to injunctions barring the administration\u2019s haphazard deportations. Like the ones we know sent people to El Salvadoran slave camp by mistake<\/em>.<\/p>\n

More damning, if less colorful, is the corroborating memo<\/a> suggesting that Bove ultimately approved the \u201cwhat if we say the law doesn\u2019t apply because the plane was over international waters<\/a>\u201d strategy. <\/p>\n

And don\u2019t forget the Eric Adams prosecution that led everyone involved with a functional conscience to resign<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

When Mr. Bove directed prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) and DOJ\u2019s Public Integrity Section to dismiss the case against New York Mayor Eric Adams, his actions gave the appearance of impermissible political considerations stemming from President Trump\u2019s immigration agenda. Former SDNY prosecutor Hagan Scotten encapsulated the problem in his resignation letter: \u201cNo system of ordered liberty can allow the Government to use the carrot of dismissing charges, or the stick of threatening to bring them again, to induce an elected official to support its policy objectives.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Expletives and questionable ethics are features not bugs for Trump, now decades into his pursuit of someone to replace Roy Cohn in his fixer firmament. Bove\u2019s commitment to the dime store Roy Cohn bit (down to cultivating the look) earned him this nomination, jumping the queue over the army of Federalist Society hacks lined up for the post. Against all odds, we look back at the FedSoc era wistfully<\/a> because while the judges were on balance unqualified and awful, several of them are actually good! This new era of Trump just elevating the lawyers who ingratiate themselves to him personally \u2014 Bove, Pam Bondi, Todd Blanche, Jeanine Pirro, Alina Habba, Ed Martin \u2014 removes even the fig leaf of independence from the process. The Apprentice<\/em> but with the rule of law at stake.<\/p>\n

And when the goal is \u201cmaking the boss happy no matter what\u201d you end up with \u201cwe can send people to slave camp as long as we fly over the Gulf of Mexico, stet, AMERICA\u201d and you eventually end up with a court system untethered from even the dubious intellectual guardrails of \u201ctextualism\u201d or \u201coriginalism.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the era of pure patronage. Unless this Judiciary Committee steps up and puts a stop to it. <\/p>\n

They won\u2019t. Even with 900 new reasons why they should.<\/p>\n

(Full letter on next page\u2026)<\/em><\/p>\n

Earlier<\/strong>: Trump Reportedly Eyes Emil Bove For Third Circuit, As We\u2019re Now Wistful For Era Of Random Unqualified FedSoc Hacks<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"Headshot\"Joe Patrice<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. Feel free to\u00a0email<\/a> any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Over 90 Former DOJ Lawyers Sign Letter Opposing Emil Bove Nomination\u2026 Oh, Wait, Sorry That\u2019s *900*<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Photo by Angela Weiss \u2013 Pool\/Getty Images) Dating back to his first term, Donald Trump\u2019s judicial nominations included nominees who were deeply unqualified, deeply unserious, and deeply problematic. But none of them \u2014 not the ghost hunters or the blog boys \u2014 managed to bring over 900 former Justice Department lawyers together in protest. So, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127000\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}