Documents detail DOJ whistleblower's account of Trump court order defiance
Documents shared Thursday provide new details about Trump administration efforts to run around a court order to ground flights carrying migrants to a Salvadoran prison, as well as Department of Justice (DOJ) leader Emil Bove’s directive to be prepared to tell the courts “f--- you” on the matter.
Bove, the principal associate deputy attorney general whom President Trump has nominated for a lifetime appointment as an appeals court judge, told Congress he doesn’t recall using the expletive.
The trove of documents offers greater detail about the Trump administration's response to an order to block the flights that has since sparked a contempt inquiry. And it also shows multiple instances of various Trump administration officials pushing to label Kilmar Abrego Garcia as a “leader of MS-13” despite issues finding evidence to back the assertion.
Shared by a Justice Department whistleblower and released by Senate Judiciary Democrats, the documents show multiple references among DOJ employees to Bove’s expletive-laden directive as well as a series of emails directing them to return or ground any flights headed to the Central American nation.
Justice Department attorney-turned-whistleblower Erez Reuveni was fired after he disclosed in a related case that Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported to the same prison due to an administrative error.
But Reuveni was also present for meetings as the Trump administration prepared to ignite the rarely used Alien Enemies Act (AEA), including a March 14 meeting where Bove is alleged to have said that the “DOJ would need to consider telling the courts 'f--- you' and ignore any such court order,” according to Reuveni’s account.
The documents show Reuveni referencing the meeting while speaking with another colleague the next day after his alerts to multiple agencies to halt the flights went largely unanswered.
“Guess we are going to say f--- you to the courts,” Reuveni texted.
The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.
Alien Enemies Act flights and pushback on judge
The documents show frantic emails from Reuveni the night of March 15 as the American Civil Liberties Union sought a court order to block suspected flights under the Alien Enemies Act.
Appearing before U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg, attorneys for the government were coy about whether there were any flights in the air, even as Reuveni, in listening mode on the telephonic hearing, relayed orders from the judge to halt the flights.
“The judge specifically ordered us not to remove anyone in the class, and to return anyone in the air,” he wrote.
The emails to various agencies pleaded for confirmation. Those appeals seem to have gone largely unanswered.
Just 30 minutes later, Boasberg sought assurances that no one on the flights had gotten off the planes or were turned over to Salvadoran authorities to be housed in their most notorious prison.
“We need to address this asap to avoid contempt,” Reuveni wrote. “In particular [for] the flight landing in three minutes.”
During a side text amid the hearing, Reuveni also relayed to a co-worker that he was baffled that colleague Drew Ensign would answer direct questions from Boasberg about plans for flights. Ensign had said he was not aware whether flights would be taking off in the next 24 to 48 hours.
“He knows they are being removed,” Reuveni said of Ensign, specifying that he knows “about the flights.”
The co-worker agreed, saying, “He knows there are plans for AEA removals within the next 24 hours.”
“It’s a question if Drew gets out without a sanction,” the co-worker added.
Boasberg would later determine there was probable cause to hold the Trump administration in criminal contempt for willfully disobeying his order to immediately halt deportations, but the proceedings were later blocked by an appeals court.
The matter remains under scrutiny, however, as the Senate weighs a vote on Bove, and many Democrats have said they have no intention of confirming a would-be jurist who has advocated for defying court orders.
While Bove sidestepped questions over whether he used an f-bomb, he stressed he has been a zealous advocate for the administration's positions.
“I’ve certainly said things encouraging litigators at the department to fight hard for valid positions that we have to take,” Bove responded.
“I certainly conveyed the importance of the upcoming operation,” he added about the Alien Enemies Act flights.
But numerous messages between Reuveni and colleagues reference not only Bove’s expletive, but his direction to rebuff court orders.
As Boasberg weighed whether to block the flights, Reuveni texted that they were reaching “a decision point on f--- you.”
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