Blanche backs Bove judicial nomination in op-ed

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is zealously backing Emil Bove's nomination to a federal appeals court amid suggestions that his confirmation could undermine the rule of law, saying "nothing could be further from the truth."

In a Fox News op-ed published Thursday, Blanche called his former co-counsel on President Trump's Manhattan criminal case "the most capable and principled lawyer I have ever known." The remarks come as the Senate prepares to vote to advance the life-tenured judicial nomination.

"His legal acumen is extraordinary, and his moral clarity is above reproach," he added. "The Senate should swiftly confirm him to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit."

The piece doubled as a defense of the Justice Department (DOJ), which has come under fire from Trump critics and the legal industry alike over concern it would defy court orders.

A whistleblower, former DOJ lawyer Erez Reuveni, said he heard Bove suggest that the Trump administration should weigh ignoring court rulings regarding its plans to send migrants to foreign prisons and tell the courts, "F--- you." Reuveni was fired after telling a judge that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported in error.

Blanche argued the narrative that the DOJ ignores courts is "plainly wrong."

"The Department of Justice invariably complies with court orders no matter how much it disagrees with the underlying reasoning or the egregiousness of the judicial error," the deputy attorney general said. "The appellate process has always been the means of securing relief from an erroneous order, and it still is."

The No. 2 official at DOJ also rejected the notion that Reuveni was fired for admitting Abrego Garcia's deportation was an error, instead claiming he was terminated for "failing to defend his client," the U.S. Blanche said he and Attorney General Pam Bondi made the decision, not Bove.

Bove's nomination is likely to proceed, since Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) — a key Senate Judiciary Republican — signaled he would back the confirmation, bringing a vote before the full Senate. There, the judicial nominee is expected to have the votes to win confirmation on the Senate floor, where Republicans enjoy a 53-47 seat majority.

"Emil has the backbone for hard cases, the restraint to wield judicial authority judiciously, and the intellect to master complexity," Blanche wrote in his op-ed. "He will decide cases fairly. He will apply the law as written. He will not bend to political pressure.

"And that is exactly the kind of judge our country needs," he added.