Whistleblower Reuveni Says Bove Told Prosecutors To Maybe Ignore Court Orders

Lawyers for Erez Reuveni, a former government lawyer forced out of his job after not making false arguments in court to satisfy his bosses, released a bombshell letter the day before Emil Bove’s confirmation hearing for an Appeals Court seat detailing Bove’s involvement in alleged resistance to court orders.

The allegation by Reuveni most pertinent to Principal Assistant Deputy Attorney General Bove’s suitability for a lifetime appeals court judgeship stems from a 14 March 2025 meeting about Donald Trump’s intention to use the Alien Enemies Act to deport rapidly Venezuelans on the grounds that the USA was being invaded by Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. In Reuveni’s account of the meeting, Bove said a court might issue an order to block the deportations, and said the Department of Justice would have to consider telling the courts “fuck you” and “ignore any such order.”

The whistleblower letter said, “Mr. Reuveni was stunned by Bove’s statement because, to Mr. Reuveni’s knowledge, no one in DOJ leadership–in any Administration–had ever suggested the Department of Justice could blatantly ignore court orders, especially with” swearing. Between that meeting and his firing, Reuveni raised concerns in several cases about efforts to violate court orders through “lack of candor, deliberate delay and disinformation.”

The government disputes Reuveni’s account, but is in the midst of proceedings to be held in criminal contempt of court by federal District Court Judge James Boasberg. The government did not comply with his order not to carry out the deportations and to turn around any aircraft that were already in the air.