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.

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.

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.

US Sen. Rick Scott, former CEO of the company that was at the center of the biggest Medicare fraud scheme in American history, has emerged as the most vocal Republican proponent of healthcare reform, warning his fellow GOP lawmakers that continued refusal to engage with the issue risks a “slow creep” toward single-payer healthcare.

On Thursday, according to Axios, Scott (R-Fla.) is “convening a group of House and Senate conservatives on Capitol Hill to pore over fresh polling to develop GOP alternatives to the Affordable Care Act.”

Late last month, Scott unveiled his own proposal titled the More Affordable Care Act, which would keep ACA exchanges intact while creating “Trump Health Freedom Accounts” that enrollees could use to pay for out-of-pocket costs. Scott’s plan, as the health policy group KFF explained, would allow enhanced ACA tax credits to expire and let states replace subsidies in the original ACA with contributions to the newly created health savings accounts.

“Unlike ACA premium tax credits, which can only be used for ACA Marketplace plans, the accounts in the Scott proposal could be used for any type of health insurance plan, including short-term plans that can exclude people based on preexisting conditions,” KFF noted. “States could also waive certain provisions of the ACA, including the requirement to cover certain benefits.”

“While ACA plans would still be required to cover people with preexisting conditions under the Scott proposal,” the group added, “it is likely that the ACA marketplace would collapse in states that seek a waiver under his approach.”

Last month, amid the longest government shutdown in US history, Scott leapt at the opportunity to champion possible Republican alternatives to the healthcare status quo, despite his ignominious record.

In 2003, the US Justice Department announced that the hospital chain HCA Inc.—formerly known as Columbia/HCA—had agreed to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties and damages to settle what the DOJ characterized as the “largest healthcare fraud case in US history.”

Scott resigned as CEO of Columbia/HCA in 1997, days after federal agents raided company facilities as part of the sweeping fraud probe. The federal government and company whistleblowers said the hospital giant “systematically defrauded” Medicare, Medicaid, and other healthcare programs through unlawful billing and other ploys.

“In 2000, Scott invoked the Fifth Amendment 75 times in a deposition as part of a civil case involving his time leading the company,” Florida Phoenix reported last year. A former HCA accountant accused Scott, who was never directly charged in the case, of leading “a criminal enterprise.”

Scott later served two terms as governor of Florida and is now one of the wealthiest members of Congress, and he maintains he was the victim of a politically motivated DOJ investigation.

“The Clinton Justice Department went after me,” Scott complained during his 2024 Senate reelection campaign.

It’s unclear whether Scott’s healthcare ideas will gain sufficient traction with President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers, who have seemed content to bash the existing system without proposing anything concrete or viable to replace it. Trump was supposed to unveil his own healthcare proposal last month, but the White House pulled the plug amid GOP pushback.

Some members of the Democratic caucus, meanwhile, are making the case for the very system Scott is warning his colleagues about.

“Let’s finally create a system that puts your health over corporate profits,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said earlier this week. “We need Medicare for All.”