Bove
(Photo
by
Kevin
Dietsch/Getty
Images)
Emil
Bove’s
confirmation
to
the
Third
Circuit
was
already
a
Category
5
ethics
disaster,
what
with
the
whole
alleged
“let’s
defy
federal
court
orders
we
don’t
like”
thing.
And
he’s
still
in
the
infancy
of
his
lifetime
tenure,
but
Bove’s
showing
that’s
enough
time
to
already
have
an
ethics
complaint
filed
against
him.
Because
you
can
put
a
political
operative
on
the
bench,
but
you
can’t
take
the
political
operative
out
of
the
judge…
because
the
whole
reason
you
put
them
on
the
bench
was
to
stay
a
political
operative.
Bove
spent
his
evening
yesterday
attending
what
can
only
be
described
as
a
full-throated
MAGA
campaign
rally
in
Pennsylvania.
And
when
reporters
asked
why
a
sitting
federal
appellate
judge
was
standing
shoulder-to-shoulder
with
the
red-hat
faithful
while
Donald
Trump
railed
against
Democrats
in
a
highly
partisan
speech,
Bove
shrugged
it
off
with
a
breezy:
“Just
here
as
a
citizen
coming
to
watch
the
President
speak.”
Sir.
You
are
a
federal
judge.
You
don’t
get
to
switch
that
off
like
a
light
switch
so
you
can
vibe
at
a
rally
where
the
headliner
screams
about
“radical
left
Democrats.”
This
is
why
the
Code
of
Conduct
for
US
Judges
says
“a
judge
should
refrain
from
political
activity”
and
shouldn’t
go
to
events
“sponsored
by
a
political
organization
or
candidate.”
To
give
a
little
flavor
of
the
kind
of
partisan
event
we’re
talking
about,
Bloomberg
Law
reports
Trump
bashed
“the
radical
left
Democrats
in
Congress,”
criticized
Joe
Biden
as
“the
worst
president
in
the
history
of
our
country,”
called
Minnesota
Gov.
Tim
Walz
“one
of
the
dumbest
governors
ever
in
our
history,”
and
said
Rep.
llhan
Omar
“and
the
people
from
Somalia”
“hate
our
country”
and
“think
we’re
stupid
people.”
Given
the
absolutely
glaring
problem
here,
it’s
no
surprise
that
Gabe
Roth
at
Fix
the
Court
has
already
filed
a
judicial
ethics
complaint
with
the
Third
Circuit.
And
Roth’s
filing
makes
the
obvious
point
that
Bove’s
“just
a
citizen!”
excuse
dissolves
on
contact
with
common
sense.
There
is
no
prohibition,
of
course,
against
a
federal
judge
attending
an
event
at
which
a
President
is
speaking.
For
example,
Supreme
Court
justices
attend
the
State
of
the
Union
each
year
as
a
show
of
unity
among
the
branches
and
their
shared
commitment
to
our
tripartite
form
of
government,
and
judges
and
justices
are
at
times
guests
at
White
House
at
state
dinners.But
last
night’s
event
in
Pennsylvania
—
prominent
conservative
voices
are
calling
it
a
“rally,”
so
that’s
what
I
will
call
it
here
—
was
a
far
cry
from
the
State
of
the
Union
or
a
state
dinner
for
its
abject
partisanship.
It
should
have
been
obvious
to
Judge
Bove,
either
at
the
start
of
the
rally
or
fairly
close
to
it,
that
this
was
a
highly
charged,
highly
political
event
that
no
federal
judge
should
have
been
within
shouting
distance
of.
Listen,
if
Bove
wanted
a
life
of
MAGA
rallies,
he
had
options.
He
could
have
stayed
a
political
operative.
Then
he
could
have
attended
every
MAGA-palooza
up
and
down
the
East
Coast.
But
he
chose
to
become
a
federal
judge,
and
that
role
is
dependent
upon
the
public
accepting
the
fiction
that
judges
are
above
the
political
fray.
Bove
ripped
that
fiction
to
shreds
in
front
of
a
cheering
crowd…
which
in
2025
probably
means
he’s
ready
for
the
Supreme
Court.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].