Whistleblower says top DOJ official suggested ignoring court orders on deportations

A top official at the Justice Department told subordinates they would need to consider ignoring court orders the day before the administration carried out deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, according to a department whistleblower

A top official at the Justice Department told subordinates they would need to consider ignoring court orders the day before the administration carried out deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, according to a department whistleblower.

In a letter sent to Congress by his attorneys, Erez Reuveni said he and others were told by Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove in very blunt terms that they might have to defy court orders.

Bove told attendees of the March 14 meeting that President Donald Trump would soon be invoking the Alien Enemies Act and that deportations would be carried out that weekend.

"Bove indicated these removals were a priority for the administration and stressed to all in attendance that the planes needed to take off no matter what," according to the letter from Reuveni's attorneys at the Government Accountability Project. A copy of the letter, which was first reported on by The New York Times, was obtained by NBC News.

"Bove then made a remark concerning the possibility that a court order would enjoin those removals before they could be effectuated. Bove stated that DOJ would need to consider telling the courts 'f--- you' and ignore any such court order," according to the letter.