Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Prime Minister of Yemen’s Houthi Government Killed in Israeli Strike

2 days ago

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Signs Law Redrawing Congressional Maps

3 days ago

US Air Force will Offer Military Funeral Honors to Slain Capitol Rioter

3 days ago

US Republican Senator Joni Ernst Will Not Run for Re-Election, CBS News Reports

3 days ago

Wall Street Falls as Dell, Nvidia Drive Tech Losses

3 days ago

US Denies Visas to Palestinian Officials Ahead of UN General Assembly

3 days ago

Minneapolis Children Revealed Courage, Absorbed Fear During Church Shooting

4 days ago

Ford Recalls Nearly 500,000 Vehicles Over Brake Fluid Leak

4 days ago

Fresno-Bound Passenger Says Delta Attendant Slapped Him, Seeks $20M

4 days ago
Democrats Release Texts, Emails to Boost Claims Trump Nominee Urged Defiance of Courts
Reuters logo
By Reuters
Published 2 months ago on
July 10, 2025

Attorney Emil Bove looks on as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump appears remotely for a sentencing hearing in front of New York State Judge Juan Merchan in the criminal case in which he was convicted in 2024 on charges involving hush money paid to a porn star, at New York Criminal Court in Manhattan in New York City, U.S., on January 10, 2025. (Reuters File)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democrats on Thursday released internal Justice Department text messages and emails to corroborate claims by a whistleblower who alleged that President Donald Trump’s judicial nominee Emil Bove suggested that department lawyers could defy court orders to carry out mass deportations.

Bove, the Justice Department’s Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General who was nominated to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, denied the allegations during his confirmation hearing last month, telling lawmakers: “I am not anybody’s henchman.”

Erez Reuveni, a former department attorney who was fired in April after he admitted in court that the government erred by deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, leveled the accusations against Bove in a detailed letter that was submitted to the DOJ’s inspector general and transmitted to members of Congress.

In that complaint, Reuveni described three separate incidents when Justice Department leaders defied court orders related to the deportation of immigrants living in the country illegally.

Reuveni alleged that Bove told colleagues in a March 14 meeting they could consider defying future court orders by telling the courts “fuck you” so that planes carrying Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador could depart as scheduled.

The planes ultimately took off despite a court order from U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, prompting him to later find probable cause to hold the government in contempt. That ruling remains paused by a federal appeals court.

Bove, in his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in June, told lawmakers he had “no recollection” of making that comment during the meeting.

Text Messages, Emails Shows Communications Related to Bove’s Statement

But text messages and emails released on Thursday by Senate Democrats, who had requested additional documentary evidence, show that Reuveni and his colleagues exchanged contemporaneous communications directly related to Bove’s statement.

They also appeared to show evidence that Justice Department officials openly defied court orders, sparking concern and alarm among department attorneys.

In one March 15 text exchange between Reuveni and his supervisor August Flentje, who attended the March 14 meeting with Bove, one of them wrote: “Guess it’s time to find out on the ‘fuck you.'”

“Yup. It was good working with you,” the other responded.

Due to redactions in the documents, Reuters could not determine who wrote every text.

In another text exchange, Reuveni and an unidentified colleague also made reference to Bove’s comments, and appeared to confirm that the Justice Department misled Boasberg about whether it was aware that deportations would be taking place in the next 24 hours.

“About to enter the find out phase,” one of them texted the other. The two then discussed how shocked they were that a senior Justice Department attorney lied to Boasberg about knowing whether flights were due to depart in the next 24 hours.

“He knows there are plans for (Alien Enemies Act) removals within the next 24 hours,” one of them wrote. “Yes he does,” the other replied.

A Justice Department spokesperson did not have any immediate comment in response to the release of the texts and emails.

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said that the texts and emails underscored his deep concerns about Bove’s nomination and proved that the DOJ “misled a federal court and disregarded a court order.”

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Scott Malone and Chizu Nomiyama)

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Garnet Fire Grows to 18,748 Acres in Sierra National Forest

DON'T MISS

US Judge Blocks Deportations of Unaccompanied Migrant Children to Guatemala

DON'T MISS

Israel Pounds Gaza City Suburbs, Netanyahu to Convene Security Cabinet

DON'T MISS

Thousands in Australia March Against Immigration, Government Condemns Rally

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He Will Order Voter ID Requirement for Every Vote

DON'T MISS

Greta Thunberg Joins Flotilla Heading for Gaza With Aid

DON'T MISS

Chicago Mayor Says Police Will Not Aid Federal Troops or Agents

DON'T MISS

Post-War Gaza Plan Sees Relocation of Population, ‘Digital Token’ for Palestinian Land: Washington Post

DON'T MISS

Labor Day Quiz: Do You Know What a Knocker-Upper Is?

DON'T MISS

Bulldogs Check All the Boxes in Runaway Win Over Georgia Southern

UP NEXT

US Judge Blocks Deportations of Unaccompanied Migrant Children to Guatemala

UP NEXT

Israel Pounds Gaza City Suburbs, Netanyahu to Convene Security Cabinet

UP NEXT

Thousands in Australia March Against Immigration, Government Condemns Rally

UP NEXT

Trump Says He Will Order Voter ID Requirement for Every Vote

UP NEXT

Greta Thunberg Joins Flotilla Heading for Gaza With Aid

UP NEXT

Chicago Mayor Says Police Will Not Aid Federal Troops or Agents

UP NEXT

Post-War Gaza Plan Sees Relocation of Population, ‘Digital Token’ for Palestinian Land: Washington Post

UP NEXT

Labor Day Quiz: Do You Know What a Knocker-Upper Is?

UP NEXT

Bulldogs Check All the Boxes in Runaway Win Over Georgia Southern

UP NEXT

Judge Blocks Pillar of Trump’s Mass Deportation Campaign

Thousands in Australia March Against Immigration, Government Condemns Rally

18 hours ago

Trump Says He Will Order Voter ID Requirement for Every Vote

18 hours ago

Greta Thunberg Joins Flotilla Heading for Gaza With Aid

18 hours ago

Chicago Mayor Says Police Will Not Aid Federal Troops or Agents

18 hours ago

Post-War Gaza Plan Sees Relocation of Population, ‘Digital Token’ for Palestinian Land: Washington Post

18 hours ago

Labor Day Quiz: Do You Know What a Knocker-Upper Is?

18 hours ago

Bulldogs Check All the Boxes in Runaway Win Over Georgia Southern

1 day ago

Judge Blocks Pillar of Trump’s Mass Deportation Campaign

2 days ago

Classic Cars Will Still Need a Smog Test in California After Lawmakers Reject Jay Leno Bill

2 days ago

Visalia Driver Arrested for DUI After Multiple Crashes and Pedestrian Injured

2 days ago

Fresno County Garnet Fire Grows to 18,748 Acres in Sierra National Forest

A lightning-sparked wildfire, the Garnet Fire, in the Sierra National Forest has burned 18,748 acres in Fresno County and remains at 8% cont...

17 hours ago

Photo: USDA - Forest Service Tanker 40 at Fresno Air Attack Base. The Fresno County Garnet Fire in the Sierra National Forest has burned 18,748 acres and is 8% contained as crews make progress on containment lines while bracing for possible thunderstorms early this week. (Sam Wu/USFS)
17 hours ago

Fresno County Garnet Fire Grows to 18,748 Acres in Sierra National Forest

U.S. flag and Judge gavel are seen in this illustration taken, August 6, 2024. (Reuters File)
17 hours ago

US Judge Blocks Deportations of Unaccompanied Migrant Children to Guatemala

Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, August 31, 2025. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)
18 hours ago

Israel Pounds Gaza City Suburbs, Netanyahu to Convene Security Cabinet

Demonstrators hold a banner during the 'March for Australia' anti-immigration rally, in Sydney, Australia, August 31, 2025. REUTERS/Hollie Adams
18 hours ago

Thousands in Australia March Against Immigration, Government Condemns Rally

President Donald Trump walks on the grounds of the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, U.S., August 30, 2025. (Reuters/Nathan Howard)
18 hours ago

Trump Says He Will Order Voter ID Requirement for Every Vote

Activists Yasemin Acar, Greta Thunberg and Thiago Avila attend a press conference before the departure of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a humanitarian expedition to Gaza, at the port of Barcelona, Spain August 31, 2025. (Reuters/Eva Manez)
18 hours ago

Greta Thunberg Joins Flotilla Heading for Gaza With Aid

National Guard troops wear gas masks during protests against federal immigration sweeps, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
18 hours ago

Chicago Mayor Says Police Will Not Aid Federal Troops or Agents

A view of tents sheltering Palestinians displaced by the Israeli military offensive, in Gaza City, August 23, 2025. (Reuters File)
18 hours ago

Post-War Gaza Plan Sees Relocation of Population, ‘Digital Token’ for Palestinian Land: Washington Post

Search

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Send this to a friend