Topline

Federal appeals court Judge Emil Bove is coming under scrutiny for attending President Donald Trump’s speech on Tuesday, as a judicial advocacy group filed a complaint alleging the judge—who previously served as Trump’s personal attorney—violated ethics rules meant to ensure judges remain impartial.

Emil Bove is sworn in before testifying to the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 25 in Washington, DC.

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Key Facts

Bove attended Trump’s event in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, telling reporters at the event he was “just here as a citizen coming to watch the president speak.”

Advocacy group Fix the Court filed a formal complaint Wednesday arguing Bove’s attendance violated the Code of Conduct for federal judges, which says judges “should avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all activities” and “should refrain from political activity.”

Trump went to Pennsylvania to deliver remarks on the economy and affordability, ultimately delivering a lengthy speech that resembled his campaign rallies and included controversial comments like calling African nations “s–thole countries” and describing Somalia as “filthy, dirty, disgusting, ridden with crime.”

While there’s “no prohibition” against federal judges attending events where the president is speaking, Bove did not leave the event after Trump’s comments turned more partisan, Fix the Court President Gabe Roth noted, arguing it should have been “obvious” to the judge “that this was a highly charged, highly political event that no federal judge should have been within shouting distance of.”

Bove was appointed to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals after holding a high-ranking position at the Justice Department, where he drew controversy for his handling of the criminal charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams and for allegedly directing DOJ officials to ignore a court order on immigration, which Bove has denied.

What To Watch For

Fix the Court’s complaint asks for Bove to “be admonished for his behavior” in attending the rally, and the Chief Judge on the Third Circuit and the Judicial Council—which review complaints against judges—should impose “any other discipline” against Bove they see fit. Federal judges can face a range of punishments for violating the code of conduct, including being censured, forced into retirement or being barred from hearing cases for a fixed amount of time. Only Congress would be able to actually impeach a judge from the federal bench, though the Judicial Council could recommend that step be taken.