'Completely reckless' Trump judicial pick may still be confirmed despite scandal: expert

On Tuesday, June 24, two major media outlets — the New York Times and CNN — reported that a whistleblower formerly employed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Erez Reuveni, had sent members of Congress a bombshell letter alleging that Donald Trump loyalists at DOJ, including Emil Bove, planned to defy federal court orders they disagree with. The news comes at a time when some federal courts and judges are blocking, at least temporarily, Trump's executive orders on immigration and deportations.

Early that Tuesday afternoon, MSNBC's Chris Jansing discussed this reporting with legal analyst Lisa Rubin and NBC News/MSNBC reporter Ken Dilanian.

Trump has nominated Bove for a seat on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, but Rubin isn't sure that Reuveni's allegations will discourage GOP senators from voting for his confirmation.

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Rubin told Jansing and Dilanian, "This isn't the first controversy that Emil Bove has encountered in his time at the Justice Department. And when I say his time at the Justice Department, Chris, I'm going back several years. And while Bove served as an assistant United States attorney in the Southern District, there were several controversies facing him when he was there — including an alleged ethical lapse in a case where the Department failed to disclose potentially exculpatory information to a defendant. There were also questions about his management style and how he dealt with defense counsel in a manner that was alleged in a letter to be completely reckless and out of control."

Rubin continued, "Does this push certain Republican senators over the edge? I would assume that, given what we know about Emil Bove to date, this won't change anything because the body of evidence that has been racked up against his conduct is already large enough that if that didn't convince someone, I'm not sure that Erez Reuveni's complaints about Emil Bove suggesting violating court orders will. That's a very sad state of affairs on the Senate Judiciary Committee, but I think it's where we are."

Dilanian noted that the Trump Administration fired Reuveni from DOJ when he objected to the way in which Kilmar Ábrego Garcia, a native of El Salvador, was deported to a notorious prison in that country without being given due process.

Dilanian told Jansing and Rubin, "He's saying that Emil Bove, the number three person in the Justice Department, raised the issue of potentially violating court orders. In fact, he quotes Bove as saying: 'We might have to say expletive-you to the courts."

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