Hawkeye Reporter

The Senate Judiciary Committee, led by Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), will proceed with a vote on Emil Bove’s nomination to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on Thursday, July 17. This decision follows committee precedent and comes after requests from minority members for a second hearing were denied.

During the previous administration, then-Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) rejected Republican calls for additional hearings on at least four nominees. Grassley referenced this history in his response to current Democratic requests: “Many times during the last Administration, then-Chairman Durbin said ‘there cannot be one set of rules for Republicans on this Committee and another set of rules for Democrats.’ I agree with this statement and intend to adhere to the precedent of then-Chairman Durbin. The Committee will vote on the nomination of Mr. Bove on Thursday,” Grassley stated in a letter addressed to Senate Judiciary Democrats.

Bove had already participated in an extensive nominations hearing on June 25 and submitted 165 pages of written responses to questions from committee members.

On Monday, minority members requested that whistleblower Erez Reuveni, a former Department of Justice official, be called to testify at a second hearing about Bove’s nomination. Reuveni has alleged that Bove advised DOJ officials to disregard court orders related to immigration law enforcement under the Trump administration. In response, Bove told the committee under oath: “I have never advised a Department of Justice attorney to violate a court order.” Both the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General affirmed Bove’s testimony.

Grassley reviewed the summary provided by minority members regarding whistleblower document disclosures and made his analysis available online. He wrote: “Following a comprehensive review of the additional documents that you published following the hearing and discussed in the media, I do not believe that they substantiate any misconduct by Mr. Bove,” adding that most documents did not mention or cite Bove directly and largely reflected internal legal debates rather than evidence of wrongdoing.

Grassley continued: “I respect whistleblowers and the whistleblowing process and have taken this matter seriously. I note that the available documents and the public record are inconsistent with some of the whistleblower’s assertions, which have been reviewed in good faith. The gravamen of the allegations is that Mr. Bove directed Justice Department attorneys to ignore court orders, but (1) the meeting with Mr. Bove occurred before there was any litigation or court order to follow; and (2) Mr. Reuveni himself clarified that he departed the meeting with Mr. Bove with the express understanding that ‘DOJ would tell DHS to follow all court orders,’” Grassley said.

The full text of Grassley's letter is available online.