Judicial Pick Bove Declines to Weigh In on Trump Third Term (1)

Judicial nominee Emil Bove wouldn’t directly answer if President Donald Trump could serve a third term in office under the Constitution, instead telling lawmakers in written questions it would be “improper” to comment on the issue.

Bove, who has been nominated for a seat on the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, provided the responses following scrutiny from Senate Democrats into his conduct at the Justice Department, including allegations that he told government lawyers to consider disregarding court orders.

Responding to questions from Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) on Trump’s eligibility to run again, Bove quoted the constitutional amendment setting presidential term limits but said that it “would not be appropriate” to address how it “would apply in an abstract hypothetical scenario.”

And to the extent the question “seeks to elicit an answer that could be taken as opining on the broader political or policy debate regarding term limits,” it “would be improper to offer any such comment as a judicial nominee,” he wrote, in a questionnaire submitted July 2 and obtained by Bloomberg Law.

Trump has previously expressed interest in serving multiple terms, despite the Constitution’s prohibition on presidents being elected to office more than twice, though later suggested he was joking and wouldn’t attempt to run again.

Bove gave similar responses to questions asking about the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, if the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol was an insurrection, and the role of the conservative Federalist Society.

Asked about prosecutions of Capitol riots, he said he condemns “all forms of illegal activity,” especially violence against law enforcement, but that he finds “overreach and heavy-handed tactics by prosecutors and law enforcement to be equally unacceptable.”

Bove also declined to condemn Trump’s post calling federal judges hearing challenges to his administration’s actions, “USA HATING JUDGES” and “MONSTERS,” but said he does “condemn violence and threats against anyone, including members of the judiciary.”

Bove is scheduled to get a vote at the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 17, before his nomination would advance to the floor. He’s nominated for a New Jersey-based seat on the appeals court, which covers federal trial courts in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

Whistleblower Allegations

The questioning comes after fired Justice Department lawyer Erez Reuveni filed a whistleblower complaint in June accusing Bove of having suggested that the department not follow court orders against the administration’s deportation policy.

Bove allegedly said at a meeting that the government “would need to consider telling the courts ‘fuck you’ and ignore any such court order,” Reuveni, a veteran litigator for the Justice Department’s Office of Immigration Litigation, alleged. Reuveni has since provided communications corroborating his allegations.

Bove has denied the allegations, saying at his Senate confirmation hearing last month that he “never advised a Department of Justice attorney to violate a court order.”

Bove, previously Trump’s personal lawyer, was already a controversial pick for the appellate court seat. Earlier in his tenure at the Justice Department, he directed the firing of prosecutors who worked on Capitol riot cases and the dismissal of corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Davis Influence

The questionnaire also sheds light on the influence conservative legal advocate Mike Davis and his group, the Article III Project, has had on Trump’s nominations pipeline in his second term.

Bove said he communicated with Davis during the selection process “that led to my nomination,” and they discussed his prior work experience, interest in the nomination, qualifications, and his judicial philosophy. He also consulted the group in preparation for his confirmation hearing, Bove said.

Davis, a former chief nominations counsel for Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), has publicly defended Bove’s nomination.