Emil Bove, a top Trump Justice Department official turned federal appeals court judge, attended a campaign-style presidential rally in Pennsylvania in a highly unusual move for a sitting judge.
Bove, who was confirmed to the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in July, was in the audience in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania on Tuesday night while President Donald Trump delivered remarks, which were initially billed as an economic speech but veered into partisan rhetoric.
Trump took aim at Democrats, bashing “the radical left Democrats in Congress” and criticizing Joe Biden as “the worst president in the history of our country.”
He also called Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) “one of the dumbest governors ever in our history” and said Rep. llhan Omar (D-Minn) “and the people from Somalia” “hate our country” and “think we’re stupid people.”
Federal judges generally avoid appearing at overtly political events. The Code of Conduct for US Judges says “a judge should refrain from political activity” and shouldn’t attend any events “sponsored by a political organization or candidate.”
A judicial misconduct complaint against Bove was filed Wednesday, alleging the judge violated the ethics rule against political activity and another on avoiding “the appearance of impropriety in all activities.”
“It should have been obvious to Judge Bove, either at the start of the rally or fairly close to it, that this was a highly charged, highly political event that no federal judge should have been within shouting distance of,” reads the complaint from Gabe Roth, executive director of the pro-court reform non-profit Fix the Court.
Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said through a spokesperson that Bove’s attendance at the rally “is outrageous” and “clearly violates the standards we have established to maintain the integrity of our court system.”
“Mr. Bove is a loyalist to President Trump, but I had hoped that after he received this lifetime appointment to the federal bench that he’d show better judgment. That clearly is not the case and demonstrates my opposition to his nomination was well-founded,” he said in a statement.
Clare Slattery, a spokesperson for Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), defended Bove’s appearance.
“This was an official White House event highlighting kitchen table issues that impact all Americans. Where’s the outrage over federal judges who’ve potentially violated the judicial Code of Conduct by trashing their own branch of government in recent statements to the press?” Slattery said, referring to media reports where judges anonymously expressed frustration about dynamics with the Supreme Court.
A Third Circuit representative declined to comment Wednesday.
Experts’ Views
Stephen Gillers, a professor at the New York University School of Law who studies legal ethics, said that Bove shouldn’t have attended the event, pointing to the ethics code’s prohibition on judge’s attending politically-sponsored events.
He also said the speeches at the rally “could heighten the perception of its political purpose and make a judge’s presence more troubling.”
Bruce Green, director of Fordham School of Law’s Louis Stein Center for Law and Ethics, said he didn’t see Bove’s attendance as “sanctionable misconduct,” but described it as a “terrible misjudgment.”
“Presidents Trump’s speech was highly un-presidential, and Judge Bove’s attendance was highly injudicious,” he said.
Still, Robert Luther, a law professor at George Mason University and former White House lawyer during Trump’s first term, said that Bove’s “private, quiet personal attendance” at a civic event “doesn’t create any problem.” He also said the code’s prohibition on attending events doesn’t apply since Trump, as a second-term president, isn’t a candidate.
The judicial ethics rules are not designed to “bar or ban judges from attending public civic functions when they’re not being featured as guests of the political actor,” he said.
“He’s simply participating in civic life. How is that any different from voting?” Luther said.
Charles Geyh, a judicial ethics expert with Indiana University, said he could understand Bove, who was previously Trump’s defense lawyer, meeting with the president as a friend in a more private context.
But he said the rally is an inherently political event that differs from Supreme Court justices attending State of the Union addresses.
“There’s no getting past the fact that Trump rallies are political events and aren’t something that’s typically attended by everybody,” Geyh said.
Bove Declaration
Bove’s appearance at Trump’s speech shortly after he submitted a declaration that said he gave “privileged legal advice” as an administration official on the Justice Department’s decision to move forward with transferring Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s custody, despite a court order to stop the flights.
Bove, who was a top official at DOJ, said he was aware of the court case and US District Judge James “Jeb” Boasberg’s statements on March 15. Bove said he evaluated those materials and was one of the people who contributed to the legal advice given to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on the transferring custody of the detained migrants under a wartime deportation law.
He said that the Justice Department hadn’t authorized him to share privileged information in the declaration.
Bove faced scrutiny during his confirmation from Democrats over whether he could function independently from Trump, his former client.
His work in a senior Justice Department role in the early months of Trump’s second term also prompted questions about his role in the move to dismiss federal criminal charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) over the objections of senior Manhattan prosecutors.
At his June confirmation hearing, Bove denied whistleblower allegations that he suggested that government lawyers ignore court orders against the Trump administration’s deportation policy.
He was ultimately confirmed 50-49, with two Senate Republicans, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, joining Democrats in opposition.
MS NOW earlier reported Bove’s appearance at the Tuesday event.
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