Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) pounded the table on behalf of one of president Donald Trump's judicial nominees.
The president nominated his former criminal defense attorney Emil Bove, now a top Justice Department official, to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the Ohio Republican called on the U.S. Senate to "confirm him quickly" in a column posted on Townhall.
"Emil is exactly the kind of person we need on the federal bench right now," Jordan wrote.
"Emil has spent his legal career in defense of the Constitution and the rule of law. For twelve years, he served as a prosecutor in Manhattan, working to keep America safe and put bad guys behind bars. As a federal prosecutor, Emil handled some of our country’s most challenging national security cases, even helping to lead the indictment of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on drug charges."
Bove's work on the president's defense teams against multiple state indictments, including a New York case in which Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to hide a hush money payment to an adult film actress, was more of a pro than a con to Jordan.
"Leaving the Justice Department in 2022 to enter private practice, Emil again defended law and order — this time from abuse by overzealous partisan prosecutors," the lawmaker wrote. "Emil helped to defend President Trump against Democrat lawfare in Washington and in New York courtrooms. As a defense attorney during these politicized prosecutions, Emil saw firsthand how a partisan prosecutor, like Jack Smith or Alvin Bragg, can abuse the authority of his office to target and harass a political opponent."
Jordan highlighted Bove's recent work in the Department of Justice, where he works alongside another former Trump criminal defense attorney, Todd Blanche, and his past work editing a law journal, clerking at both the district and appellate court levels, working as an associate at a high-powered law firm and serving as a federal prosecutor and a partner in a criminal defense firm.
"By any of the usual metrics applied to judicial nominations, Emil passes with flying colors," Jordan wrote.
"But what makes Emil an exceptional choice to be a federal judge is his perspective and his temperament," Jordan added. "Emil has worked in our justice system as a prosecutor and a defense attorney. He’s seen our justice system at its best — putting terrorists behind bars — and at its worst—manipulating the law to try to influence an election. There’s no doubt that these experiences have shaped Emil into a judge who will be fair-minded and even-handed."
Jordan then argued that voters wanted courts to clear the way for Trump's policy preferences, no matter what the law might say.
"In the four months since the inauguration, Americans have seen an activist federal judiciary emboldened to block President Trump’s agenda," Jordan wrote. "Unlike any time in recent memory, judges are substituting their policy preferences for those of the elected branches, obstructing the Administration’s policies and subverting the democratic will of the American people."
"The American people gave President Trump a mandate last November," the lawmaker added. "It’s a mandate to secure our borders and restore the rule of law. It’s a mandate to return common sense to our country. And it’s a mandate to appoint judges to our federal courts who know their job is to faithfully apply the law — not to insert their own policy objectives."
