Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are hoping to tank the nomination of Emil Bove, an acting deputy U.S. attorney general who President Donald Trump has picked for a lifetime seat as a federal judge for the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. But Bove appears to be on track for confirmation despite the troubling allegations of Erez Reuveni, a former immigration lawyer for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) who alleges that Bove encouraged his DOJ colleagues to blatantly defy federal court orders on President Donald Trump's immigration policy. Bove flatly denies Reuveni's allegation.

In an article published by Salon on July 17, national security expert and former DOJ legal adviser Jesselyn Radack —who now heads the Whistleblower & Source Protection Program (WHISPeR) — emphasizes that whistleblowers like Reuveni play a crucial role in keeping the United States democratic and says she is "glad" he "went public."

"Reuveni's case hits home because of its parallels to my own," Radack explains. "In December 2001, as a legal adviser to the (Justice) Department's Office of Professional Responsibility, I advised the criminal division that an FBI interrogation of 'American Taliban' John Walker Lindh without his lawyer would be unethical. When I was informed three days later that he had been interrogated despite that warning, I advised that the interview might have to be sealed and used only for national security and intelligence-gathering purposes, and not for criminal prosecution."

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Radack continues, "Three weeks later, then-Attorney General John Ashcroft announced that the Justice Department was filing a criminal complaint against Lindh — and in another three weeks, he announced an indictment, insisting that Lindh's rights 'have been carefully, scrupulously honored.' I knew that wasn’t true. I had seen photos of Lindh naked, blindfolded and bound to a board with duct tape. It was our first glimpse of torture after 9/11, and no one flinched."

The former DOJ lawyer argues that the "parallels between" her case in 2001 during George W. Bush's presidency and Reuveni's in 2025 "are uncanny."

"Like Reuveni," Radack explains, "I was pushed out of a job I loved because the Justice Department was playing fast and loose with the court in a case where a defendant appeared to have been tortured. I resigned in protest when it became clear I was going to be transferred to office Siberia or forced out. Reuveni was suspended — and then fired — because he admitted, truthfully, that a man sent to a gulag in El Salvador was deported in violation of a court order and that he did not know the legal basis for that decision."

Radack, however, doubts that Reuveni's allegations will prevent the U.S. Senate's GOP majority from making Bove a federal judge.

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"I predict Bove will also be confirmed, because if leaky, wobbly Pete Hegseth can become secretary of defense, the bar is so low that anyone can clear it," Radack writes. "I only hope that, at the end of the day, Reuveni comes out unscathed from his whistleblowing journey."

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Jesselyn Radack's full article for Salon is available at this link.

One of the many controversies the second Trump Administration is facing involves Emil Bove, a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) appointee who — former DOJ attorney Erez Reuveni alleges — encouraged colleagues to defy federal court rulings on President Donald Trump's immigration policies. Bove has flatly denied Reuveni's allegations, but on Thursday morning, July 10, Politico journalists Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney reported that Reuveni "has provided Congress with a trove of e-mails and text messages to corroborate his claims" that Bove "crudely discussed defying court orders."

"The newly-released messages reinforce claims by whistleblower Erez Reuveni that Bove played a key role in a decision by Trump Administration immigration officials to turn scores of Venezuelan immigrants over to El Salvador's government despite a U.S. judge's order not to do so," Gerstein and Cheney report. "The messages show increasing alarm among Justice Department lawyers that the (Trump) Administration had in fact defied court orders and that some officials — including a prominent DOJ lawyer brought on by the Trump Administration — could face sanctions for misleading the courts."

According to Gerstein and Cheney, "The disclosures to the Senate Judiciary Committee, requested by the panel's Democrats and shared with Politico, come as the committee prepares to vote on and likely advance Bove's nomination to a seat on the Philadelphia-based 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. Bove's brief but rocky tenure at the Justice Department appears unlikely to derail his nomination, particularly after Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), a key vote on the panel, suggested Wednesday, (July 9) he was likely to back Trump's pick."

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Many Democrats, in light of Reuveni's allegations, are encouraging a "no" vote on Bove.

Politico's new reporting on Bove is receiving a lot of discussion on X, formerly Twitter.

Senate Judiciary Democrats tweeted, "More whistleblower evidence corroborates allegations that Emil Bove, a Trump judicial pick, said the Justice Department would need to say 'f--- you' to federal courts. Disqualifying."

College professor J. Thibodeaux said of GOP Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, "Collins and Murkowski will still vote to confirm. Watch."

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CBS News' Scott MacFarlane posted, "ALERT: Whistleblower's texts suggest Trump judicial nominee Emil Bove urged lawyer to defy court order."

X user The Porcelain Dalmation tweeted, "So not only did Bove advocate disobeying court orders, he committed perjury when he lied about it in front of the committee …. Internal DOJ messages bolster claim that Trump judicial nominee spoke of defying court orders…. @politico."

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council posted, "When questioned under oath at his confirmation hearing, Emil Bove refused to outright deny that he'd said the DOJ should tell federal judges 'f--- you,' instead avoiding any straight answer. Now newly-released text messages lend further support to the whistleblower's account."

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Read Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney's full Politico article at this link.

The Trump Administration and President Donald Trump's critics are having intense debates over his immigration policies and the federal courts. While Trump and his allies are accusing federal courts of exceeding their authority by blocking his immigration and deportation orders, critics are responding that the federal courts are doing exactly what they are supposed to do by playing a key role in the United States' system of checks and balances.

Now, the New York Times and CNN are reporting that according to a whistleblower, Erez Reuveni, Trump appointees at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) are planning to defy federal court orders on his immigration/deportation policy. Reuveni is a former DOJ lawyer who was fired, and Reuveni spoke out in a letter to members of Congress that CNN has obtained a copy of.

In an article published on Tuesday morning, June 24, CNN journalists Annie Grayer and Katelyn Polantz report, "The letter, which was sent to members of Congress and independent investigators within the executive branch on Tuesday, is likely to prompt greater scrutiny of Emil Bove, who has been serving as the principal associate deputy attorney general. Bove faces a Senate committee hearing on his nomination to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday. The whistleblower, Erez Reuveni, who worked on the case of the mistakenly deported immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, says Bove, in a March meeting, 'stated that DOJ would need to consider telling the courts f--- you' and ignore any orders to stop the hasty deportation of migrants to a prison in El Salvador."

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The New York Times' Devlin Barrett reports that Bove "told subordinates he was willing to ignore court orders to fulfill the president's aggressive deportation campaign."

Reporting from the Times and CNN is generating a lot of discussion on X, formerly Twitter.

Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, a longtime Trump ally, is claiming that the Times' reporting is inaccurate.

Blanche tweeted, "The New York Times article describes falsehoods purportedly made by a disgruntled former employee and then leaked to the press in violation of ethical obligations. The claims about Department of Justice leadership and the Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General are utterly false which is likely why the author gave the Department of Justice 15 minutes this morning to respond (they wrote that we did not 'immediately respond with a comment') before releasing this garbage."

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But other X users are having much different reactions.

Former trial attorney John Jackson, an ex-Republican, tweeted, "Stunning whistleblower account of DOJ attorneys intentionally violating court orders and lying to federal judges. We knew this was likely happening but here it is in detail."

Attorney Howard Bachman posted, "Justice Dept. Leader Suggested Violating Court Orders, Whistle-Blower Says; Emil Bove III, a Trump judicial nominee, voiced his intent to disobey court orders as others stonewalled and misled judges, according to a complaint."

Greg Nunziata, executive director of the Society for the Rule of Law, commented, "More evidence in support of an already overwhelming case: the Senate should reject Mr. Bove's nomination to the judiciary. Justice Dept. Leader Suggested Violating Court Orders, Whistle-Blower Says."

X user A. Rose wrote, "Well this is very scary. No guard rails in place. DOJ will no longer uphold the (law) or constitution. Justice Dept. Leader Suggested Violating Court Orders, Whistle-Blower Says."

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Read CNN's full article at this link and the New York Times' reporting here (subscription required).

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), established under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1935, is among the many federal government agencies being targeted for mass layoffs by the Trump Administration and the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Like other agencies, the NLRB fears that Trump Administration/DOGE cuts will make it difficult for the agency to function effectively. But the NLRB, according to National Public Radio (NPR), has another worry as well: a fear that "sensitive data" will be compromised.

"The small, independent federal agency investigates and adjudicates complaints about unfair labor practices," NPR's Jenna McLaughlin explains in an article published on April 15. "It stores reams of potentially sensitive data, from confidential information about employees who want to form unions to proprietary business information. The DOGE employees, who are effectively led by White House adviser and billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk, appeared to have their sights set on accessing the NLRB's internal systems. They've said their unit's overall mission is to review agency data for compliance with the new administration's policies and to cut costs and maximize efficiency."

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McLaughlin continues, "But according to an official whistleblower disclosure shared with Congress and other federal overseers that was obtained by NPR, subsequent interviews with the whistleblower and records of internal communications, technical staff members were alarmed about what DOGE engineers did when they were granted access, particularly when those staffers noticed a spike in data leaving the agency."

The NLRB data in question, according to McLaughlin, includes "sensitive information on unions, ongoing legal cases and corporate secrets."

"The employees grew concerned that the NLRB's confidential data could be exposed, particularly after they started detecting suspicious log-in attempts from an IP address in Russia, according to the disclosure," McLaughlin reports. "Eventually, the disclosure continued, the IT department launched a formal review of what it deemed a serious, ongoing security breach or potentially illegal removal of personally identifiable information…. The new revelations about DOGE's activities at the labor agency come from a whistleblower in the IT department of the NLRB, who disclosed his concerns to Congress and the U.S. Office of Special Counsel in a detailed report that was then provided to NPR."

The NPR reporter adds, "Meanwhile, his attempts to raise concerns internally within the NLRB preceded someone 'physically taping a threatening note' to his door that included sensitive personal information and overhead photos of him walking his dog that appeared to be taken with a drone, according to a cover letter attached to his disclosure filed by his attorney, Andrew Bakaj of the nonprofit Whistleblower Aid."

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Read the full NPR article at this link.

Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger, the head of an independent federal agency that protects whistleblowers, filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday alleging that U.S. President Donald Trump's "purported" dismissal of him via email on Friday is unlawful and ignores for cause removal protections that Dellinger is entitled to.

Dellinger is one of a number of officials at independent federal agencies that Trump has moved to fire in recent weeks.

According to the complaint, Dellinger received an email from Sergio Gor, director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, on February 7, which read: "On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as special counsel of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel is terminated, effective immediately. Thank you for your service[.]"

The complaint lists six defendants, including Gor, Trump, acting Special Counsel of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) Karen Gorman ("upon the purported removal" of Dellinger, according to the complaint), Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Chief Operating Officer of the OSC Karl Kanmann, and Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought.

Dellinger is requesting that the court declare his firing unlawful and affirm that he is the head of the OSC.

The filing also asks the court to order that "Bessent, Gor, Kammann, and Vought may not place an acting special counsel in plaintiff Hampton Dellinger's position, or otherwise recognize any other person as special counsel or as the agency head of the Office of Special Counsel."

The watchdog group Project on Government Oversight called the move against Dellinger "illegal" and wrote on X on Monday that it "undermines the office that investigates whistleblower disclosures of wrongdoing and enforces the law meant to keep partisan politics out of the federal workforce."

The OSC is both an investigative and prosecutorial agency whose main mission is to protect federal employees from "prohibited personnel practices"—in particular reprisals for whistleblowing. The office is different from the "special counsels" that the U.S. Department of Justice may appoint to prosecute cases in instances where they deem there may be a conflict of interest.

Dellinger was nominated to be the special counsel of the OSC by then-President Joe Biden in 2023 and was confirmed by the Senate to a five-year term that was set to expire in 2029.

The complaint cites federal statute, which mandates that "the special counsel may be removed by the president only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office." Dellinger's legal counsel argues that the email from Gor does not accuse Dellinger of "any inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance... nor could it."

In late January, Trump fired National Labor Relations Board Member Gwynne Wilcox, who has since sued over her dismissal, as well as two Democratic members of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Federal Election Commission Commissioner and Chair Ellen Weintraub also said that Trump tried to remove her improperly.

The Trump administration also purged over a dozen inspectors generals who perform oversight duties at various federal agencies.

The filing also argues that the removal of these sorts of civil servants makes the work of the OSC all the more important.

"Congress authorized the OSC with a crucial investigative and oversight role to protect the integrity of the civil service in circumstances such as these," wrote Dellinger's lawyers.

"The recent spate of terminations of protected civil service employees under the new presidential administration has created controversies, both about the lawfulness of these actions and about potential retaliation against whistleblowers," they added.

I’ve seen the aftermath of collapsed nations—now I see it happening here.

As a journalist and analyst, I’ve spent the last several years living and reporting in regions that have undergone massive political transformations. I lived for years in the Czech Republic, where I met many people with direct ties to the Velvet Revolution. I walked the streets of Prague with those who once occupied them in protest. I studied the Russian language, traveled extensively through the former Eastern Bloc, and listened closely to the survivors of failed regimes—those who remember the slow unraveling of authority, trust, and truth.

I’ve also spent significant time in South America, where I witnessed a very different kind of collapse—and rebirth. In Bolivia, I spoke with officials and journalists who lived through the 2019 coup and saw their country fight its way back to democracy. I’ve walked with communities who understand, firsthand, how empires and juntas collapse—and how people organize in the rubble.

Now I believe this country is collapsing.

Not in the dramatic, Hollywood fashion we tend to imagine—there are no tanks in the streets, no blackout zones or food lines. But what I am witnessing now in Northern Kentucky, through my work with the Northern Kentucky Truth & Accountability Project (NKTAP), is unmistakable: a slow-motion institutional implosion. And it mirrors what I have seen in failed or failing states around the world.

In Northern Kentucky, I’ve uncovered a network of corruption that spans law enforcement, prosecutorial offices, courts, and local media. I’ve documented how whistleblowers are silenced, public records denied, and criminal cases manipulated to protect the powerful.

Police ignore credible murder leads. Prosecutors bury evidence. Courts issue orders without hearings. And journalists—some out of fear, others out of complicity—refuse to report the truth. In my own case, I’ve faced obstruction, threats, targeted harassment, and retaliatory smears simply for investigating what any decent system should have investigated itself.

Our institutions are no longer capable of self-correction. That means the burden of accountability, truth telling, and justice now falls on us.

The structures of governance still stand. The buildings are still open. But the rule of law has collapsed in all but name. What remains is theater—a simulation of justice that functions to preserve power, not serve the public.

This isn’t just about Northern Kentucky. It’s a microcosm. I’m in touch with colleagues around the country—investigators, reporters, former civil servants—and I hear the same story again and again:

• Entire state agencies captured by private interests;
• Local governments ignoring open records laws;
• Whistleblowers retaliated against without recourse;
• Judges ruling from sealed dockets with no oversight;
• Public health policy shaped by ideology, not science; and
• Independent journalism gutted, bought, or blacklisted.

We are in a moment of mass epistemic failure, where truth itself is destabilized and power no longer answers to reason, law, or fact.

It doesn’t come with a bang. It comes with:

• The quiet refusal to investigate credible crimes;
• The steady normalization of lawlessness;
• The dissolution of public trust; and
• The emergence of parallel systems of truth-telling and justice.

This is what I’ve seen before. In Prague. In La Paz. In the fractured republics of the former USSR. It begins when the official channels of accountability no longer function—and the people must build their own.

That’s what I’m doing with the Northern Kentucky Truth & Accountability Project. We’re documenting. Archiving. Speaking to victims. Exposing public records that local officials tried to bury. We’re creating a people’s archive—a living record of a regime in decline.

Because when institutions stop telling the truth, the only way forward is to tell it ourselves.

I used to believe that America was “different”—that our legal tradition, constitutional system, and civic institutions would inoculate us from the kinds of collapse I saw abroad. I no longer believe that.

The US is not collapsing because it is uniquely broken. It is collapsing because it is a state like any other, vulnerable to the same corruption, elite decay, and loss of legitimacy that have brought down countless systems before.

The question is not whether collapse is happening. It is. The question is what we do after we accept that reality.

We can pretend this is just “polarization.” We can tell ourselves that if we just wait for the next election, the pendulum will swing back. Or we can admit the truth: Our institutions are no longer capable of self-correction. That means the burden of accountability, truth telling, and justice now falls on us—on journalists, organizers, whistleblowers, and ordinary people with the courage to say: enough.

I’ve seen what happens when people organize. I’ve also seen what happens when they don’t.

And I’m telling you: Now is the time to choose.

Bradley Blankenship is an American investigative journalist, columnist, and researcher who has lived and reported across Central Europe, South America, Asia, and the United States. He has worked with international media outlets and conducted in-depth reporting on democratic backsliding, public corruption, and civil resistance movements. He is the founder of the Northern Kentucky Truth & Accountability Project, a grassroots initiative documenting systemic failure and official misconduct in the American heartland. He is also the author of a forthcoming investigative memoir.