In Praise Of Trump’s Nomination of Emil Bove to Third Circuit Court of Appeals

In Praise Of Trump’s Nomination of Emil Bove to Third Circuit Court of Appeals

We have previously written about Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, who, prior to the election, worked for then-candidate Donald Trump in his (mostly) successful attempts to fend off the lawfare being conducted against Trump:

• Trump “Removes” Manhattan Criminal Case to Federal Court, Potentially Halting Sentencing [Update]:

That attempt at “removing” the state’s case against President Trump ultimately failed, but it was not for lack of trying and essentially playing every card in the book in a hostile legal environment. As I wrote at the time:

I am not sure of the validity of this last argument, but I can tell you that the lawyer that filed Trump’s “Notice of Removal,” Attorney Emil Bove, is one of the smartest lawyers I ever worked with. When I interned for Judge Richard C. Wesley of the federal Second Circuit Court of Appeals, Emil was one of Judge Wesley’s law clerks, and damn was he smart. He also clerked for Judge Richard Sullivan, who was a Manhattan federal court judge and is now a sitting judge of the Second Circuit [and] spent over nine years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office.

After President Trump’s inauguration, Attorney Bove was appointed to be the Acting Deputy Attorney General, and immediately authored and disseminated a memo telling federal prosecutors to investigate state and local officials who obstruct immigration enforcement, which you can review here. See our post on this topic: DOJ to Investigate State, Local Officials Who Block Immigration Enforcement

And now, President Trump has nominated Emil Bove to be a federal appellate judge on the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which covers New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

From Fox News: Trump nominates former defense attorney Emil Bove for federal appeals court vacancy:

President Donald Trump announced he will nominate Emil Bove, a Justice Department official and his former defense attorney, to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, a controversial choice that comes as the president continues to attack so-called “activist” judges for blocking his agenda.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump praised Bove as “SMART, TOUGH, and respected by everyone.”

“He will end the Weaponization of Justice, restore the Rule of Law, and do anything else that is necessary to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,” Trump added.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi also praised his nomination on X. Emil has been “indispensable partner at the Department of Justice” she said, and “has worked tirelessly from day one as we make America safe again.”

“It is hard to imagine going to work without Emil, but our loss here at DOJ will be the country’s gain!” she added.

There are two vacancies on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which covers Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. If confirmed, Bove would serve a lifetime appointment on the federal bench.

Of course the Democrats hate Bove for his tireless efforts to thwart their full-court-press lawfare efforts to throw candidate Trump in jail for any number of pre-fabricated “crimes,” and his immediate efforts upon Trump’s assumption of the Presidency to ensure immigration enforcement is a key priority:

Bove faces an uncertain path to confirmation, as Democrats have sharply criticized President Trump’s efforts to install loyalists atop the DOJ and FBI. His nomination is likely to spark a contentious confirmation battle, with Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats expected to use the process to press Bove under oath on some of the administration’s most controversial actions…

Prior to his installation at the Justice Department, Bove spent nearly 10 years as a U.S. prosecutor for the Southern District of New York. He also defended Trump in two of his criminal trials following his first term in the White House.

In each of these roles and at DOJ, Bove’s hard-charging tactics have solidified his reputation as a fierce, loyal and, at times, aggressive leader…

Shortly after taking office, Bove sent a memo threatening state and city officials with criminal charges or civil penalties if they failed to comply with the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration or slow-walked their orders on enforcement…

Fox News also reported earlier this year that Bove was behind an exhaustive questionnaire sent to FBI agents detailing their roles in the Jan. 6 investigations.

Questions ranged from agents’ participation in any grand jury subpoenas to whether the agents worked or responded to leads from another FBI field office or if they worked as a case agent for investigations.

I, for one, am fervently hoping that Bove’s nomination sails through the Senate. He is obviously tough, and conservative, but what gets lost in the noise sometimes is that he is brilliant, hard-working, and effective — exactly what a federal appellate judge should be.

I know this because when I showed up for my two-day-a-week intern job in Judge Richard Wesley’s chambers during my 2L fall semester of law school at Cornell, Emil was one of Judge Wesley’s law clerks. Judge Wesley relied on Emil in extremely demanding cases to untie Gordian knots of legal confusion, which Emil accomplished expertly. I also had the chance twice to go to Second Circuit oral arguments with Emil in Manhattan with Judge Wesley presiding, and those were some of the most fun and informative times in my law school experience — Emil Bove’s insights into each case were invaluable to me in understanding what was at issue as the cases were argued.

And Emil Bove is a hell of nice guy, whatever the worthless mainstream media says about him, who gave me some great career advice when we both worked for Judge Wesley and who celebrated me getting my first job as an attorney at a big law firm on Manhattan (I got the call as I was heading to lunch with Judge Wesley and his clerks).

And I’m not the only one hoping for smooth sailing for Emil Bove:

Congratulations to my friend Emil Bove on his exciting nomination! Emil has been an indispensable partner at the Department of Justice and has worked tirelessly from day one as we make America safe again. It is hard to imagine going to work without Emil, but our loss here at DOJ… pic.twitter.com/cR4WuBsjnS

— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) May 28, 2025

JUST IN: President Trump has nominated Emil Bove to be a judge on the 3rd Circuit Court. Bove was a rockstar during the lawfare trials in New York. pic.twitter.com/79l4QTYbrr

— George (@BehizyTweets) May 28, 2025

I’ve gotten to know Emil Bove very well over the past couple of years. Emil is a man of true integrity, and a great American Patriot. Emil will be an incredible judge at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit—Congrats on your nomination Emil, so happy for you! pic.twitter.com/g8CFSsac2J

— Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) May 28, 2025

President Trump will pick even more bold and fearless judges in his second term.

And Emil Bove is one of the most bold and fearless of them all. pic.twitter.com/ts7zT0s7r5

— 🇺🇸 Mike Davis 🇺🇸 (@mrddmia) May 28, 2025

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