Nancy Pelosi has appeared to blame the Trump administration for every piece of bad news from the COVID-19 pandemic.
But according to Law Professor Jonathan Turley, Pelosi’s statements are wildly contradictory and “disconnected from controlling the law.”
Professor Turley, a Democrat, became a household name during the impeachment hearings, where Republicans appointed him as one of their key witnesses.
“Nancy Pelosi just said to Chris Wallace on Fox that she does not understand people publicly protesting civil liberties on lock down orders,” Professor Turley tweeted on Sunday. “However, this followed her defense of her calling people to join her in Chinatown in late February as a protest against distrimination.
See more on law Professor Turley’s legal analysis of Pelosi below:
Professor Turley's comments are a stark reminder of President Trump's strong, early actions against the spreading COVID-19 pandemic.
During the impeachment process, Trump began securing our borders in January. He was criticized for the move, but scientists have quietly admitted that his actions saved lives.
Even after he secured the borders, Pelosi was calling on people to go to restaurants and shops in Chinatown.
Professor Turley called out the contradictory statements made by the speaker of the House, the Daily Wire reports:
Jonathan Turley, a self-described Democrat who is a Constitutional Law Professor at George Washington University, called out House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday over multiple contradictory statements that Pelosi gave during an interview on “Fox News Sunday.”
“Nancy Pelosi just said to Chris Wallace on Fox that she does not understand people publicly protesting civil liberties on lock down orders,” Turley tweeted. “However, this followed her defense of her calling people to join her in Chinatown in late February as a protest against discrimination.”
Turley is correct. Pelosi, when asked by host Chris Wallace if she understood why protesters were pushing back on Democrats who were restricting their rights, Pelosi responded, “No, not really.”
Turley highlighted another contradiction writing: “Pelosi said that ‘leaders take responsibility’ and do not blame others. However, when asked about her calling people out in mass to Chinatown in late February, she said it was because of what Trump ‘said about Asian Americans.’ Trump did refer to ‘the Chinese virus,’ not citizens.”
While Democrats appear ready to play the blame game, their actions speak louder than words.
President Trump, for example, warned about the novel coronavirus during his State of the Union address.
Nancy Pelosi was seen ripping up that speech in a planned out move for dramatic effect.
Many prominent Democrats and media figures have even attempted to claim that President Trump is "responsible" for any death resulting from COVID-19.
Professor Turley, who specializes in Constitutional law, says that any claim that the president is responsible is a "distortion" of the criminal code.
The Washington Examiner reports that the George Washington University professor has pushed back against the critics of President Trump:
“The argument that Trump may be criminally liable for his handling of the pandemic is wildly disconnected from the controlling law,” Turley wrote on Twitter on Saturday. “It is only the latest of a long line of distortions of the criminal code that would make prosecution an extension of politics.”
Turley, a constitutional law professor at George Washington University, was reacting to an opinion piece published by Newsweek with the headline “Could Trump Be Criminally Liable for His Deadly Mishandling of Coronavirus?"
Turley was the legal witness Republicans called upon during Trump's impeachment hearings in the House. Turley argued that the charges brought against Trump did not amount to a high crime or misdemeanor. More recently, he condemned the media for its "unrelentingly negative spin" of Trump's coronavirus response.
The president’s critics argue the Trump administration was too slow in preparing for the onslaught of the coronavirus outbreak.
“Can we talk about 1 of the few topics I may actually know too much about: homicide?” MSNBC legal analyst Glenn Kirschner said in mid-March. “Specifically, whether Donald Trump may have criminal exposure for some level of negligent homicide or voluntary/involuntary manslaughter for the way he’s mishandled the Coronavirus crisis.”
Former Obama national security adviser Susan Rice echoed Kirschner’s sentiment earlier this month, blaming Trump’s leadership for the lives lost from the virus.
“I really hope the president does not declare prematurely 'mission accomplished' and try to celebrate his success when we already lost more than 23,000 lives in barely two months,” Rice said to CNN’s Anderson Cooper. “Lives that, many of which, necessarily did not need to be lost. And our economy is in the tank? It is a very, very tragic situation that could have been lessened with responsible and effective leadership. Sadly, that is not what we have at the moment.”
While the Trump adminsitration is working diligently to protect lives and livelihoods, Democrats appear to be politicizing the pandemic.
Nancy Pelosi has already approved councils with the power to subpoena the administration.
Rather than helping the president fight the pandemic in real time, Democrats are investigating the efforts.
Just like the impeachment hearings, Professor Turley is spot on once again!
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