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A while back, Jonathan Turley’s single-minded mission to be on cable news every night led him to accidentally pen a defense of sex trafficking to own the libs. Maybe it was the start of a trend!
The GW law professor who was so deeply offended that Democrats weren’t as peaceful and accepting of all peoples as Donald “They’re Eating The Dogs” Trump has put aside his concerns over combative, demeaning rhetoric and thrown his lot in with Trump’s selection of Matt Gaetz to serve as Attorney General on the strength of the latter’s… less than two years working as a lawyer.
That’s not a lot of experience, but as Gaetz himself might say, age is just a number, man.
The “legitimate” grievance Trump has with the DOJ is twofold. First, that his own first administration Justice Department leadership went along with stifling an obstruction investigation and kidnapping children, but drew the line at stealing an election. Second, that Biden’s Justice Department tried to prosecute him for stockpiling top secret documents in his bathroom. This was the same case that JONATHAN TURLEY thought was “extremely damning” until he realized that wasn’t what his attention benefactors wanted to hear and he started explaining that it really was no big deal because… reasons.
So the “surge protectors” that Turley is talking about stripping away are the ones that keep presidents from stealing elections or selling nuclear codes to Putin.
This is a trick Turley pulls often, not necessarily praising or criticizing a Trump move but assigning it “legitimacy” and an air of “boldness.” It’s as good as cheerleading to an audience that thrives on grievance politics and authoritarian imagery while allowing Turley to pretend that he’s not just a MAGA press secretary using the pretense that his remarks wouldn’t be seen as partisan without the baggage those Fox audiences bring to the table.
Except he’s talking to that audience and very deliberately choosing his message to push these buttons.
Dems in disarray is a punchline in media as the sort of analysis dumb people make to sound smart. Much like suggesting that legislators can’t chew gum and walk at the same time. There’s no warrant for the claim that Democrats have to pick and choose a limited number of nominations to challenge. Democrats won’t not look at Pete Hegseth’s mounting sexual assault and white nationalism allegations just because Matt Gaetz is the subject of what is — reportedly — a damning ethics report about statutory rape. That’s not how lawmakers work!
But Dems are, in fact, in the minority. Which is much more problematic than being in disarray. If the Gaetz nomination or placing a Fox reporter in charge of the Department of Defense or eventually making Hulk Hogan Treasury Secretary or whatever encounters any problems that’s entirely on Republicans refusing to play ball with Dear Leader.
Alas, that’s not a useful path to an evening Fox News hit, so… it’s all about the Democrats having to exhaust ephemeral political capital.
But, hey, maybe it sells books.
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter or Bluesky if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.