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Emil Bove

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Emil Bove
Bove in 2017
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Nominee
Assumed office
TBD
PresidentDonald Trump
Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 20, 2025
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byMarshall Miller
Acting United States Deputy Attorney General
In office
January 21, 2025 – March 6, 2025
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byLisa Monaco
Succeeded byTodd Blanche
Personal details
Born
Emil Joseph Bove III

April 1981 (age 44)
Spouse
Sarah Samis
​
(m. 2012)​
Education

Emil Joseph Bove III (/boʊˈveɪ/; born April 1981) is an American attorney who has served as the principal associate deputy attorney general since 2025. Bove served as the acting United States deputy attorney general from January to March 2025.

Bove studied public policy and economics at the University at Albany, SUNY, and graduated from Georgetown University Law Center in 2008. He clerked for judges Richard J. Sullivan and Richard C. Wesley and served as an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell before becoming an assistant United States attorney for the Southern District of New York in 2012. Bove was appointed co-chair of the office's terrorism and international narcotics unit in October 2019. He resigned in December 2021 and later joined Donald Trump's legal team in September 2023.

In November 2024, president-elect Trump named Bove as principal associate deputy attorney general. He was appointed acting deputy attorney general until Todd Blanche's confirmation in March 2025. Trump announced his intent to nominate Bove to fill a vacancy on the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on May 28, 2025.

Early life and education (1981–2008)

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A building behind a green field and trees.
Georgetown University Law Center, where Bove studied (pictured in 2024)

Emil Joseph Bove III[1] was born in April 1981[2] in Seneca Falls, New York.[3] His father, Emil Bove Jr., is an attorney.[4] The elder Bove served as an assistant New York attorney general.[1] In 1999, the younger Bove graduated salutatorian from Mynderse Academy, where he participated in the school's soccer, basketball, and lacrosse teams.[5] He later graduated from the University at Albany, SUNY summa cum laude in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in public policy and economics.[3] At SUNY Albany, Bove captained the Albany Great Danes men's lacrosse team. He was named the America East Conference Male Scholar Athlete in 2003.[6] After graduating, Bove worked as a paralegal in the District Court for the Southern District of New York before leaving in 2005 to attend Georgetown University Law Center,[7] graduating in 2008.[3] He was the editor-in-chief of The Georgetown Law Journal's Annual Review of Criminal Procedure.[6]

Career

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Clerkship (2008–2012)

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From 2008 to 2009, Bove clerked for judge Richard J. Sullivan of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.[2] The following year, he clerked for judge Richard C. Wesley of the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.[8] After his clerkship, Bove served as an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell.[9]

Assistant U.S. attorney (2012–2021)

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In 2012, Preet Bharara, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, hired Bove as an assistant attorney.[7] In November, he married Sarah Samis, a senior health policy analyst at the United Hospital Fund.[1] Bove was appointed co-chair of the office's terrorism and international narcotics unit in October 2019.[7] Prominent prosecutions Bove led included those against Nicolás Maduro,[10] Cesar Sayoc,[11] Tony Hernández,[12] and Fabio Lobo.[13] In 2018, he sought a supervisory position; Bove was rejected amid concerns over his behavior.[14] Bove assisted in identifying numerous participants of the January 6 Capitol attack.[15] He resigned in December 2021.[16]

Private practice (2022–2025)

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Bove joined Chiesa, Shahinian & Giantomasi in their New York City office in January 2022.[16] In September 2023, he became a partner at Blanche Law, a law firm founded by Todd Blanche. Days later, Bove joined Donald Trump's criminal defense team.[11] In the criminal trial of Trump in New York, he defended Trump.[17] Bove represented Trump in his federal defense, including the classified documents and election obstruction cases.[18]

Acting deputy attorney general (January–March 2025)

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See also: 2025 U.S. Department of Justice resignations

On January 21, 2025, Bove was appointed acting deputy attorney general.[19] Within days, he sent a memorandum threatening to prosecute local officials who refuse to comply with requests from the department following through on Trump's immigration policy.[20] Bove later stated that Carla B. Freedman, the United States attorney for the Northern District of New York, was investigating Tompkins County, sheriff Derek Osborne, who allegedly allowed a Mexican citizen to be released from jail after pleading guilty to assault in the third degree.[21] That month, he instructed the leadership of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to compile a list of prosecutors involved in criminal proceedings in the January 6 Capitol attack.[22] Hours later, over twelve federal prosecutors with the attorney for the District of Columbia who investigated the attack were dismissed.[23] Bove moved to exert greater authority over the bureau, accusing acting director Brian Driscoll and his deputy, Robert Kissane, of "insubordination" in February for refusing to provide the list of names he requested.[24] According to The Wall Street Journal, he threatened to fire Driscoll.[25] Senator Dick Durbin accused Kash Patel of directing the dismissals of career civil servants that Bove carried out.[26]

Communications between federal prosecutors and New York City mayor Eric Adams's legal team had gone through Bove since he took office, according to The New York Times.[27] Bove dismissed federal charges against Adams in February, arguing that the indictment interfered with the New York City Democratic mayoral primary.[28] The move to dismiss the case led to several resignations, including from Danielle Sassoon, the acting attorney for the Southern District of New York.[29]

Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General (2025–present)

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On November 14, 2024, president-elect Donald Trump named Bove as principal associate deputy attorney general.[30]

Nominee for Judge of the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

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In May 2025, The New York Times reported that Donald Trump was considering naming Bove as his nominee to occupy a vacancy on the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.[31] On May 28, Trump announced that he would nominate Bove to the appellate court.[32]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Sarah Samis, Emil Bove III". The New York Times.
  2. ^ a b Emil J Bove III in the U.S., Index to Public Records, 1994-2019.
  3. ^ a b c "Trump attorney, Seneca Falls native Emil Bove tapped for top DOJ role". FingerLakes1.com.
  4. ^ Shaw 1981.
  5. ^ Cotterill 2024.
  6. ^ a b Porter 2023.
  7. ^ a b c Goldman et al. 2025.
  8. ^ Olechowski 2010.
  9. ^ "Who is Emil Bove?: Acting deputy attorney general expected in court for Adams hearing". WNBC.
  10. ^ Ordoñez 2016.
  11. ^ a b Cheney & Orden 2023.
  12. ^ Ernst 2019.
  13. ^ Raymond 2016.
  14. ^ Orden 2025.
  15. ^ Rabinowitz et al. 2025.
  16. ^ a b Adams & Ernst 2022.
  17. ^ Protess et al. 2024.
  18. ^ Thrush et al. 2025.
  19. ^ Gurman 2025.
  20. ^ Thrush 2025.
  21. ^ Maag & Sullivan 2025.
  22. ^ Goldman, Barrett & Thrush 2025.
  23. ^ Thrush et al. 2025.
  24. ^ Thrush & Goldman 2025.
  25. ^ Gurman, Barber & Viswanatha 2025.
  26. ^ Savage 2025.
  27. ^ Haberman et al. 2025.
  28. ^ Rashbaum et al. 2025.
  29. ^ Gurman, Ramey & Fanelli 2025.
  30. ^ Barrett 2024.
  31. ^ Thrush & Savage 2025a.
  32. ^ Thrush & Savage 2025b.

Works cited

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Articles

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Documents

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  • "Emil J Bove III in the U.S., Index to Public Records, 1994-2019" (Document). Index to Public Records.
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Political offices
Preceded by United States Deputy Attorney General
Acting
2025 		Succeeded by
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