Federal Appeals Judge Attends Trump Rally, Raises Questions About impartiality.
A complaint has been filed with the Judicial Council of the Third Circuit accusing US federal appeals court judge Emil Bove of violating judicial conduct rules after attending a Pennsylvania rally featuring President Donald Trump.
Bove, who is also the president's former personal attorney, attended the event held at Mount Pocono casino in northeastern Pennsylvania on Tuesday night. When questioned about his attendance by a reporter from MSNBC, he claimed to be "just here as a citizen coming to watch the president speak." However, the advocacy group Fix the Courts disagrees, stating that Bove’s appearance violates rules prohibiting judges from engaging in “the appearance of impropriety” and participating in “political activity.”
Fix the Courts' executive director Gabe Roth argued that attending a highly charged, partisan event like the Trump rally poses risks to judges’ impartiality when assigned cases linked to the president.
"The Code of Conduct for US judges is fairly clear here," Roth stated in his letter accompanying the complaint. "Canon 2 states that a judge 'should avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all activities.' Attending a Trump event - and not leaving when it became clear that the speech was, in fact, a partisan rally - violates this canon."
Roth also highlighted Canon 5, which prohibits judges from participating in political activity. He likened the Pennsylvania rally to other obvious political events, such as Trump rallies in 2020 or 2024.
The complaint does not trigger an automatic investigation, but the circuit's chief judge has the option of dismissing it or appointing a committee to further investigate.
A complaint has been filed with the Judicial Council of the Third Circuit accusing US federal appeals court judge Emil Bove of violating judicial conduct rules after attending a Pennsylvania rally featuring President Donald Trump.
Bove, who is also the president's former personal attorney, attended the event held at Mount Pocono casino in northeastern Pennsylvania on Tuesday night. When questioned about his attendance by a reporter from MSNBC, he claimed to be "just here as a citizen coming to watch the president speak." However, the advocacy group Fix the Courts disagrees, stating that Bove’s appearance violates rules prohibiting judges from engaging in “the appearance of impropriety” and participating in “political activity.”
Fix the Courts' executive director Gabe Roth argued that attending a highly charged, partisan event like the Trump rally poses risks to judges’ impartiality when assigned cases linked to the president.
"The Code of Conduct for US judges is fairly clear here," Roth stated in his letter accompanying the complaint. "Canon 2 states that a judge 'should avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all activities.' Attending a Trump event - and not leaving when it became clear that the speech was, in fact, a partisan rally - violates this canon."
Roth also highlighted Canon 5, which prohibits judges from participating in political activity. He likened the Pennsylvania rally to other obvious political events, such as Trump rallies in 2020 or 2024.
The complaint does not trigger an automatic investigation, but the circuit's chief judge has the option of dismissing it or appointing a committee to further investigate.
... I mean, I know judges are supposed to be impartial and all, but how can we really trust them when they're out there getting all up in the party with Trump? 
It's not just that Bove used to work as the president's lawyer either, it's like he's kinda created a conflict of interest or something. I don't know what the rules are exactly, but if attending a rally is gonna make him question his own impartiality, then yeah, that's a problem 
. And can you imagine if he was assigned to hear a case involving Trump? That would be like totally unfair 
... I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens next 
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It's not like they're forcing anyone to attend or anything. And Bove's explanation just seems kinda convenient, ya know? "Just here as a citizen"... yeah sure, right! 
What if someone from MSNBC had gone and asked him about his personal relationship with the president? Would he have given the same answer? 
attending trump rally seems pretty problematic to me... 
. It's not like he's on the bench making life-or-death rulings; he's just a federal appeals court judge 
. Fix the Courts is right to point this out, and if nothing else, Judge Bove should've been more transparent about his intentions 
... like what's next? Judges attending Beyoncé concerts and suddenly becoming experts on justice system reform? 
I don't buy that Emil Bove was just "watching the president speak" when he's got a history with Trump, for real. This guy's gotta answer some serious questions about his impartiality 
I'm not surprised to hear about this, mate. As someone who's been around for a while, I've seen some questionable behavior from folks in positions of power. If a judge is attending a Trump rally and claiming they're just there as a "citizen", that doesn't exactly fill me with confidence 
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. With Judge Bove's attendance at the Trump rally in question, it seems like he may be struggling with the nuances of Canon 2 and Canon 5 
. As a former personal attorney to the President, his involvement in such a partisan event could potentially blur the lines of his impartiality, making it challenging for him to remain objective when assigned cases related to the President's policies 
. It would be best if the Judicial Council takes this complaint seriously and investigates further to ensure that our judges are adhering to the highest standards of conduct 
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. Will Bove be able to defend himself, or is it just too much of an appearance of impropriety? The public deserves transparency here...
. Fix the Courts is right on point here, it's a CLEAR VIOLATION OF JUDICIAL CONDUCT RULES and could potentially compromise the judge's impartiality in future cases 
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And what's with the "appearance of impropriety" thing... how do you even define that?
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. I mean, come on, isn't it clear that being the president's former personal attorney and attending one of his rallies is gonna raise some eyebrows? 
It's all about context and perspective, right? 
i'm not saying it's gonna be easy or anything, but i think it's kinda fishy that judge bove was like "just here as a citizen" 
fix the courts is trying to bring attention to this, and honestly, it makes sense. who wouldn't want to question impartiality when you're already kinda tied to the president's side? 
! I mean, can you imagine if one of your favorite YouTubers was caught attending a super partisan event and then claimed they were just there as a fan? lol no way 
I'm all for judges being active in their communities, but this is just too suspicious for me. And what's with the lack of transparency? shouldn't we know who's attending these events and why? 
the fixthecourts folks seem right on point here though 
also wonder if judge bove thought through the potential conflict of interest implications before attending the rally