The defining feature of Justice Department official Emil Bove’s trip to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday was his reluctance to detail anything at all.
Bove, who is seeking Senate confirmation for a spot on the federal appellate court, rebuffed questions about his actions at the top of the DOJ, leaning heavily on the notion that the American public can’t hear about internal deliberations at the country’s primary law enforcement agency.
Republican senators let Bove, who’s spent just five months as No. 3 at the Justice Department, deflect as he seeks an influential position on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. The court reviews federal cases in Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Just a day before the confirmation hearing, a fired prosecutor alleged Bove had instructed government officials to ignore the nation’s court orders with a “Fuck you.”