Emil Bove

Emil Joseph Bove III (; 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 became an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell before returning to federal employment 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 United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in May.

Early life and education (1981–2008)

Emil Joseph Bove III was born in April 1981 in Seneca Falls, New York. His father, Emil Bove Jr., is an attorney. The elder Bove served as an assistant New York attorney general. In 1999, the younger Bove graduated salutatorian from Mynderse Academy, where he participated in the school's soccer, basketball, and lacrosse teams. He later graduated from the University at Albany, SUNY '' summa cum laude'' in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts in public policy and economics. 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. After graduating, Bove worked as a paralegal in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York before leaving in 2005 to attend Georgetown University Law Center, graduating in 2008 with a Juris Doctor. He was the editor-in-chief of '' The Georgetown Law Journal''s Annual Review of Criminal Procedure.

Career

Clerkship (2008–2012)

From 2008 to 2009, Bove clerked for judge Richard J. Sullivan of the District Court for the Southern District of New York. The following year, he clerked for judge Richard C. Wesley of the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. After his clerkships, Bove was employed as an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell.

Assistant U.S. attorney (2012–2021)

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

Private practice (2022–2025)

Bove joined Chiesa, Shahinian & Giantomasi in their New York City office in January 2022. 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. In the state court criminal trial of Trump in New York, he was second chair to Blanche on Trump's defense team. Bove represented Trump in the federal classified documents and election obstruction cases.

Department of Justice (2025–present)

On November 14, 2024, president-elect Donald Trump named Bove as principal associate deputy attorney general. On January 20, 2025, Bove was appointed acting deputy attorney general. 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. 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. 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. Hours later, over twelve federal prosecutors with the attorney for the District of Columbia who investigated the attack were dismissed. 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. According to ''The Wall Street Journal'', he threatened to fire Driscoll. Senator Dick Durbin accused Kash Patel of directing the dismissals of career civil servants that Bove carried out.

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''. Bove dismissed federal charges against Adams in February, arguing that the indictment interfered with the New York City Democratic mayoral primary. The move to dismiss the case led to several resignations, including from Danielle Sassoon, the acting attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Nomination to court of appeals

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

References

Works cited

Articles

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Documents

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External links

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Dismissal Without Prejudice of Prosecution of Mayor Eric Adams
by the Acting Deputy Attorney General, on February 10, 2025

Re: United States v. Adams, No.24 Cr.556 (S.D.N.Y.)
by Emil Bove, the Acting Deputy Attorney General, on February 13, 2025

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bove, Emil
Year of birth missing (living people)
1981 births
Living people
People from Seneca Falls, New York
Assistant United States attorneys
Albany Great Danes men's lacrosse players
Georgetown University Law Center alumni
Donald Trump attorneys
Second Trump administration personnel
Lacrosse players from New York (state)
New York (state) lawyers