GOP senator blames too many whistleblowers in bizarre defense of Trump's court pick
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) delivered a bizarre defense Tuesday of President Donald Trump's nominee for a lifetime appointment to a federal judgeship, Emil Bove.
CNN host Kasie Hunt asked Kennedy if he believed Bove when the senior Justice Department official denied advising clients to defy a court order.
"I did," Kennedy answered. "I asked him about it in committee. I've said repeatedly in the Judiciary Committee in front of God and country that if you disagree with the federal judge's order, you don't have the right to ignore it. You can cuss it, you can discuss it, you can criticize it within the bounds of judicial and legal ethics, you can appeal it, but if your client tells you to ignore it, then you quit."
"So, I asked Bove about it and he said, 'I didn't do it,'" Kennedy added.
Kennedy then blamed Senate Democrats for bringing forward too many whistleblowers to discredit Bove.
"I know we have a lot of whistleblowers, but let me see how I can put this, Kasie," Kennedy began. "If everyone is a racist, no one's a racist. If everyone is corrupt, no one is corrupt. If my Democratic colleagues are going to trot out whistleblowers two and three at a time every time we have a nominee that they don't agree with, you know, they sort of lose their efficacy. And that's the situation we're in right now."
One whistleblower wrote in a letter to the Senate that Bove told other lawyers he would ignore court orders that worked against President Trump. Two other whistleblowers repeated the same claims, with one displaying an affidavit, text messages, and emails to verify his claims.