An ethics complaint was filed on Wednesday with the California Bar Association targeting Erez Reuveni, the former U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyer who was fired for failing to represent his client, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in the lawsuit filed against the agency by Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
Reuveni was fired in April, when the DOJ said he failed to strongly defend the DHS in the Abrego Garcia case, with the attorney at one point telling Obama-appointed U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis that he was “frustrated” with his government client.
Filed by the nonprofit group, Democracy Restored, the complaint notes that after Reuveni was fired, the ex-DOJ lawyer obtained representation from the Government Accountability Project, and sought whistleblower protections for claims he made during the U.S. Senate confirmation of Appeals Court Judge Emile Bove, who supervised Reuveni’s department at the DOJ prior to his judicial nomination by President Donald Trump.
“Reuveni went public only AFTER his termination, and as DOJ official Emil Bove was under consideration for a federal judgeship,” wrote Democracy Restored in a post to X. “His actions appear politically motivated, not protective of justice. By leaking client information, he undermines the trust that keeps our justice system functional and weakens the importance and bravery of true whistleblowers.”
🚨 NEW FILING: Democracy Restored has filed a complaint with the California Bar against former DOJ attorney Erez Reuveni for violating attorney-client privilege with his clients, .@TheJusticeDept and .@DHSgov. According to Rule 1.13, his clients were these agencies, yet he… pic.twitter.com/fu9YW8ZYfV
— Democracy Restored (@DemoRestored) November 12, 2025
Democracy Restored describes itself as a nonpartisan organization dedicated to “protecting the principles of representative democracy,” through scrutiny of “unelected bureaucrats.”
Their complaint specifically alleges that Reuveni violated California Bar Rule 1.6, which governs confidential information provided by clients, and Rule 1.13, which establishes procedures for attorneys representing organizational entities.
It states, “Reuveni was terminated for insubordination. He spoke outside the authority given to him by his client, the U.S. Government. He argued with his client and employer over how to handle litigation.”
It additionally argues that allowing Reuveni’s conduct to go unchallenged could lead to similar personnel disputes for Democrats, including Governor Gavin Newsom of California.
“If Reuveni’s actions do not warrant bar discipline, then Rule 1.6 may as well be nullified. Doing so would create extraordinarily bad precedent, as all current and future government employees can speak about every decision to which they disagree,” the group argues.
“Both President [Donald] Trump and Governor Newsom would be equally at risk of having their attorneys speak about their strategy, reactions, and anything else,” the attorneys deem appropriate, it states.
Much of the group’s description of Reuveni’s conduct appears to match the summary offered by August Flentje, the attorney who was his direct supervisor at DOJ, in a letter sent to the agency’s human resources department when Reuveni was first suspended.
Of Reuveni’s admission to the judge of his “frustration” with his client, Flentje wrote, “I believe it was not appropriate for Mr. Reuveni to make statements that expressed ‘frustration’ with our policy client (here DHS).”
Reviewing the transcript of Reuveni’s interactions with Xinis, he wrote that another statement by his former subordinate, “goes too far in sounding like Mr. Reuveni is airing a dispute between DOJ and DHS about information sharing in a public courtroom.”
Flenje later went further, writing that Reuveni was wrong to tell Xinis he was receiving unsatisfactory information from DHS.
“We represent the client, so a statement like this that reflects dissatisfaction with the client is not appropriate in court,” wrote Flentje.
Later in his letter, his former supervisor said Reuveni likely violated attorney-client privilege.
“I do think it was not appropriate for Mr. Reuveni to describe his recommendation for resolving the case to his client,” Flentje wrote. “That likely reveals information regarding a privileged discussion, and should not be discussed in court.”
In addition to his whistleblower complaint, Reuveni has also offered interviews to New York Times and 60 Minutes, when he repeated his claims, including that DOJ attorneys misled U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg over the status of aircraft loaded with Tren de Aragua terrorist who the administration was deporting using the Alien Enemies Act.
“It really hit me. We really did tell the courts, ‘screw you.’ We really did just tell the courts, ‘We don’t care about your order. You can’t tell us what to do,'” Reuveni said during his 60 Minutes interview.
The planes had already left the country by the time Boasberg issued a verbal order demanding they be grounded, and Ensign told the judge he was not aware of the status upon the abrupt court appearance.
While Reuveni has cited this instance during the Trump administration’s early attempt to use the Alien Enemies Act as evidence of the administration’s defiance of court orders, the federal government has since obeyed orders to cease deporting illegal immigrants under the 18th century law.
The immigration lawsuit brought by Abrego Garcia remains ongoing, with filings stalled in August by the second immigration lawsuit brought by the alleged human smuggler against the Trump administration.
Originally deported under contested circumstances, Abrego Garcia was returned to Tennessee in June, when U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi unsealed the indictment accusing him of spending nearly a decade embroiled in a human smuggling ring.
Bondi unsealed the indictment just two months after The Tennessee Star reported that Abrego Garcia was stopped by Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) on November 30, 2022, when a THP spokesman told The Star that the “Biden-era FBI” instructed troopers to release him. A DHS document later showed the troopers suspected human trafficking during the stop.
Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty. His case is currently scheduled to reach trial in January, but DHS recently confirmed it would prioritize his deportation to Liberia, should Xinis lift her injunction blocking his removal.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Image “Erez Reuveni” by CBS News / 60 Minutes.
The guy most certainly violated attorney-client privilege and should be disciplined but don’t your breath since California hates the Trump administration and wants open borders regardless of the criminal element that comes into America. Reuveni should have resigned and kept his mouth shut.