Democrats walk out of Bove, Pirro meeting as panel advances controversial Trump nominees

The Senate Judiciary Committee gave its approval to two controversial Trump nominees Thursday, forwarding Emil Bove and Jeanine Pirro over objections from Democrats who walked out of a business meeting after debate was cut short.

Bove, one of President Trump's former criminal defense attorneys who is now in the No. 3 spot in the Justice Department, has been nominated for a lifetime appointment as a jurist on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.

He has been accused by a whistleblower of saying the administration should consider telling the courts “f‑‑‑ you” and defy any injunctions imposed by judges blocking their use of the Alien Enemies Act.

Pirro, a former county judge and Fox News host, was confirmed as a nominee for U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C.

The meeting made for an unusual scene, as Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) appealed to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on personal terms after Grassley, the committee chair, cut off requests for continued debate and did not allow all Democrats to speak on the Bove nomination.

“You are a good man. You are a decent man, why are you doing this? What is Donald Trump saying to you that are making you do something which is violating the decorum of this committee, the rules of this committee, the decency and the respect that we have each other to at least hear each other out?” Booker said.

“This is unjust. This is wrong. It is the further deterioration of this committee's integrity with a person like this. What are you afraid of?” 

Booker then exited alongside the rest of his colleagues, a rare protest leaving the Democratic side of the dais completely empty.

Democrats had centered most of their focus on Bove, who in addition to the whistleblower allegations, was behind the dismissal of multiple prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases, and also pushed for the dismissal of bribery charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams, prompting a wave of resignations.

Erez Reuveni, the whistleblower who made the complaint against Bove, was fired after a disclosure he made in a related case when he told a judge that El Salvador migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported back to his home country in error.

But as the Trump administration planned to send Venezuelan men to be imprisoned in a notorious Salvadoran facility, Reuveni said he witnessed Bove suggesting court defiance was an option ahead of an episode where the administration withheld information from a judge and failed to turn around deportation flights as ordered. 

Reuveni has offered to appear before the Senate panel but Grassley said the disclosure smacked of “a political hit job.” He declined to take up a motion from Booker to take a vote on hearing from the whistleblower.

“Let's start with a credible whistleblower who came forward with texts and emails that show that Mr. Bove said ‘F you’ to the courts and instructed federal officials to ignore a court order….I'm hard pressed to believe that someone who dedicated 15 years to public service would jeopardize the career, the safety of themselves and their families for no reason,” Booker said.

Bove has said he doesn't recall whether he used the expletive but sidestepped questions about whether he floated defying court orders, telling the committee during his confirmation hearing that he “certainly conveyed the importance of the upcoming operation.”

A judge overseeing challenges to the deportation flights later found probable cause to begin an inquiry into whether the Trump administration defied his order to halt the planes.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) later chimed in, saying texts among Justice Department staff show the expletive-laden directive was “so abundantly corroborated in real time communications.”

“Prosecutors don't get better corroboration than that.”

Grassley called the complaint an example of “vicious partisan attacks.”

“Like clockwork, just before a hearing or vote, we get another breathless accusation that one of President Trump’s nominees needs to be investigated,” he said.

“Even if you accept most of the claims as true, there’s no scandal here. Government lawyers aggressively litigating and interpreting court orders isn’t misconduct—it’s what lawyers do.”

Beyond the whistleblower allegations, Democrats have sparred over Bove’s roles in sidelining and firing prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases.

Bove has been the target of numerous letters urging lawmakers to reject his nomination, including 900 former Justice Department attorneys who have accused him of dismantling key functions to keep the department independent from the White House.

“Federal prosecutors, career professionals have raised strong reservations about Mr. Bove, who had undermined their legitimate work to hold accountable people who did the most horrific acts of violence,” Booker said, noting some fired prosecutors were unable to secure meetings with Republicans on the committee.

“[It’s] almost as if they don't want to hear the truth or the facts or the details. How can you say you were concerned about what happened on Jan. 6 and you won't listen to the people who spent months and months and months prosecuting those cases,” Booker said.

Efforts to highlight Bove’s role in terminations were a clear appeal to Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who told CNN he would not support nominees who have excused Jan. 6. 

But Tillis backed Bove on Thursday, saying Democrats failed to show he condoned the riots.

“Does anybody really believe that if I was convinced that Bove had made any statements condoning the violent acts against Capitol police officers, that I'd be voting for him? Just ask Ed Martin whether or not that's a red line,” Tillis said, quashing the prospects of a nominee Pirro was then tapped to replace.

“We have to distinguish between those 2-or-300 thugs that I believe should still be in prison — and disagreed on the Senate floor with the president pardoning them — from the from the boneheads, that for some reason, thought they should enter the Capitol through broken windows and doors,” TIllis said.

“Do your homework on finding a hard example and count me in to refuse confirming that nominee. But don't finesse it when you simply don't have the facts on your side,” he said.

The meeting ended before either side had a chance to discuss Pirro, whose nomination garnered less attention in the wake of the focus on Bove.

Republicans had praised Trump for a thoughtful choice in tapping a former judge and prosecutor to lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C. Pirro has already been serving in the role on an interim basis.

But Democrats have argued Pirro floated false claims about the 2020 election, making her too loyal to Trump to be counted on as a fair-minded prosecutor.

“She’s an election denialist, recklessly peddling President Trump’s Big Lie despite even her own Fox News producers and executives warning her to reel it in,” Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.) the top Democrat on the panel, said after a Wednesday meeting with Pirro.

“And ultimately, she’s a Donald Trump loyalist, vengefully attacking his perceived political opponents and showing no willingness to put the rule of law ahead of the President’s wishes.”

Updated: 11:45 a.m.