Trump judge faces ethical misconduct complaint after attending rally

11 December

Emil Bove, attorney for former US President Donald Trump, attends at Manhattan criminal court in New York, US, on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. JEENAH MOON/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

Emil Bove, one of Donald Trump's most contentious judicial appointments, is facing a new ethical complaint after attending one of the president's recent speaking events, which the complaint characterized as like a "political rally" full of "abject partisanship," per a report from Axios.

After serving in several other positions in the second Trump administration, Bove was nominated by the president to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. His nomination became controversial, with a group of 75 former state and federal judges signing a letter accusing him of an "egregious record of mistreating law enforcement officers, abusing power and disregarding the law itself" and calling for him not to be confirmed. He ultimately was confirmed, however, losing only a few votes from moderate Republican senators, with the rest of the Senate GOP voting in favor of his appointment.

On Wednesday, watchdog organization Fix the Court, an advocacy group dedicated to reforms of the federal court system, submitted a judicial misconduct complaint against Bove over his attendance at Trump's speaking event in Pocono Hill, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday. According to Axios, the complaint accused the judge of failing "to avoid impropriety and political activity," a violation of "two clear pillars of judicial ethics."

The letter was addressed to Judge Michael Chagares, chief justice of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, where Bove serves, and specifically alleges violations of "the governing Code of Conduct for U.S. judges."

"There is no prohibition, of course, against a federal judge attending an event at which a President is speaking," Gabe Roth, executive director for Fix the Court, wrote in the complaint, further arguing that Trump's Tuesday event was, "a far cry from the State of the Union or a state dinner for its abject partisanship."

"[It] should have been obvious to Judge Bove, either at the start of the rally or fairly close to it, that this was a highly charged, highly political event that no federal judge should have been within shouting distance of," Roth continued. "Last night's event in Pennsylvania was barely distinguishable (i.e., only temporally) from a Trump rally in 2020 or 2024, both of which were obvious political activities."

Bove previously dismissed concerns about his appearance at the event, telling MS NOW he was there only "as a citizen coming to watch the president speak." A White House press representative, Steven Chueng, told critics of the move on social media to "Stop... pearl-clutching."

If Bove is found to have committed an ethical violation as laid out in the complaint, he could face disciplinary action.

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