We support legitimate whistleblowers, but this disgruntled employee is not a whistleblower — he’s a leaker asserting false claims seeking five minutes of fame, conveniently timed just before a confirmation hearing and a committee vote. As Mr. Bove testified and as the Department… https://t.co/NEU8ZidH65

— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) July 10, 2025

“We support legitimate whistleblowers, but this disgruntled employee is not a whistleblower — he’s a leaker asserting false claims seeking five minutes of fame, conveniently timed just before a confirmation hearing and a committee vote,” Bondi posted to X. A Senate Judiciary Committee spokeswoman confirmed to the Washington Examiner that a vote on Bove’s nomination is slated for next week, on July 17.

“As Mr. Bove testified and as the Department has made clear, there was no court order to defy, as we successfully argued to the D.C. Circuit when they stayed Judge Boasberg’s lawless order. And no one was ever asked to defy a court order,” Bondi added.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche also rejected Reuveni’s claims.

I stand fully behind Mr. Bove and the Department’s actions. We don’t defy court orders. No one was ever asked to defy a court order—because there was no court order to defy. This disgruntled former employee is not a whistleblower; he’s spreading falsehoods after being fired for… https://t.co/RxU3zpmmXO

— Todd Blanche (@DAGToddBlanche) July 10, 2025

“No one was ever asked to defy a court order — because there was no court order to defy,” Blanche said, referring to the fact that U.S. District Judge James Boasberg only issued an order halting the removal of migrants after planes en route to El Salvador were in the air during the March episode in question.

The statements came in response to a New York Times report that featured Reuveni’s first public comments since he filed a 27-page whistleblower complaint last month. In it, Reuveni alleged that senior DOJ official Bove told attorneys during a March 14 meeting that “the planes needed to take off no matter what,” even if it meant telling a court, “F*** you.”

Bove, the principal associate deputy attorney general at the DOJ who is now Trump’s nominee to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, has denied the claim under oath, stating at his Senate confirmation hearing last month that Reuveni’s own account showed the department planned to follow court orders.

“Even if that account is taken at face value,” Bove testified, “the whistleblower acknowledges that he left the meeting … with the understanding that, of course, the department would advise clients to abide by court orders.”

He added that Reuveni signed a legal brief weeks later confirming the DOJ’s compliance in one of the disputed cases.

The DOJ’s public rebuttal coincided with a new lawsuit filed Thursday by American Oversight, a progressive watchdog group seeking to force the release of internal records related to Bove’s conduct. The lawsuit, filed in D.C. federal court, seeks to compel responses to seven Freedom of Information Act requests submitted earlier this year involving Bove, Reuveni, and other DOJ officials.

“Over the past six months, information has come to light suggesting that Mr. Bove may have violated his ethical obligations and acted to defy the Constitution and the rule of law,” the lawsuit states, referencing reports that Bove encouraged attorneys to disregard judicial authority.

The FOIA requests demand communications mentioning the Salvadoran prison CECOT, the Alien Enemies Act, and high-level DOJ discussions surrounding the March deportation flights. They also seek Bove’s messages about New York City Mayor Eric Adams, whose federal corruption case Bove helped dismiss, prompting internal pushback and several resignations.

American Oversight previously filed a bar complaint against Bove in New York, alleging he may have committed professional misconduct. The group, which frequently litigates against Republican-led agencies, also asked for any communications between Bove and figures including Stephen Miller, Elon Musk, and FBI Director Kash Patel.

Bove, like Blanche, worked as one of Trump’s personal defense attorneys before rejoining the DOJ as its principal associate deputy attorney general following Trump’s election victory. He signed the motion to drop charges against Adams, later denying under oath that he pressured or rewarded any career prosecutors to support the move, and he denied the existence of any deal between the mayor’s attorneys and the Trump administration.

“There’s been some criticism … suggesting that there was some kind of illicit quid pro quo in connection with that motion. That’s simply false,” Bove told senators during his confirmation hearing, adding that Adams denied any deal in writing and under oath.

Reuveni’s complaint has been backed by outside groups such as the Government Accountability Project, a liberal watchdog organization that has previously represented National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden. The group has received over $1.4 million from George Soros’s Open Society Foundations and more than $13 million from the Fund for Constitutional Government, tax filings show.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and other Senate Democrats have seized on Reuveni’s complaint and internal DOJ messages to argue that Bove is unfit for a lifetime appointment. But Bove and top DOJ officials contend the claims are meritless and timed to disrupt the confirmation process.

“This is fundamentally a dispute about the challenges posed by the unelected bureaucracy to the unitary executive,” Bove told Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) during the hearing.

Grassley told the Washington Examiner he is still reviewing the claims alleged by Reuveni but noted on “first look, they don’t seem to support the political narrative the Democrats are spinning.”

TRUMP JUDICIAL NOMINEE EMIL BOVE DENIES WHISTLEBLOWER CLAIM HE TOLD DOJ TO DEFY COURT ORDERS

Both Bondi and Grassley reiterated their support for whistleblower testimony against public corruption, though the attorney general made clear that she sees a distinction between leakers and whistleblowers, as did the Iowa senator.

“I support whistleblowers and the whistleblowing process … [but] if the Democrats were serious about this process, they wouldn’t have sent me these documents less than one hour before releasing them to the media. That to me shows they’re playing politics,” Grassley said.