Democrats Walk Out Of Trump Judicial Nominee Emil Bove’s Hearing

Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee abruptly walked out of a Thursday hearing on whether to advance the nomination of President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney to a lifetime federal judgeship.

The attorney, Emil Bove, is the subject of a whistleblower complaint from a former Justice Department attorney who says Bove, currently a top Justice Department official, pressured staff to mislead and curse at federal judges.

Trump now wants Bove to serve on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers district courts in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey.

The Democrats’ move, however, sparked questions over whether the nominee technically advanced out of the committee.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) continued shouting at the committee chair, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), while all of his Democratic colleagues left the room in protest of the lack of debate over Bove’s fitness.

Booker wanted to hear from the whistleblower before the senators voted on whether to advance Bove’s nomination, but Grassley refused to hold a vote on whether the whistleblower should be allowed to speak.

“This is absolutely insane. What is the rush?” Booker said.

“You are obligated to address a point of order according to the rules of this committee,” he said. “You’re violating your own rules.”

Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) accused Grassley of overseeing a “kangaroo court” as she left.

Grassley allowed the remaining senators to vote on advancing Bove and former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, who is nominated to serve as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.

The Republicans voted unanimously in favor of both.

In response to a question about the vote, Grassley’s office told HuffPost that “the committee reported nominations today by a vote of 12-0.”

But Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told NBC News it may be up to the Senate parliamentarian whether the vote tally sticks. Durbin’s office did not immediately respond to a HuffPost request for comment.

More than 900 former Justice Department lawyers signed a letter expressing “deep concern” about Bove’s nomination on Wednesday, saying that he disgraced the department.

The whistleblower allegation stemmed from Bove’s involvement in defending Trump’s decision to pack migrants onto planes and fly them to a prison in El Salvador without due process.

He provided a number of controversial responses to written questions from the senators on the committee, including declining to come out against a third presidential term for Trump — even though the 22nd Amendment explicitly prohibits it.

Bove also declined to condemn the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

In addition to asking to hear from the whistleblower, the Democrats attempted to get answers from Bove on any role he might have played in Attorney General Pam Bondi’s decision not to release more information from investigatory files on the deceased financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.