Jonathan Turley says Trump has ‘fair amount’ of leeway to fight against courts who may try to block terrorism charges

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said Thursday that President Donald Trump has the discretion” to fight against the court who may dispute the terrorism charges against a Tren de Agua (TdA) gang member.

Federal prosecutors initiated terrorism charges Thursday against Jose Enrique Martinez Flores, an alleged high-ranking TdA leader, marking the first time the Trump administration has indicted a gang member with terrorism charges. Turley said that Trump has the power to define “what constitutes terrorism,” which will help the administration fight against the courts who may dispute that the gang member committed acts of terror.

“Some courts may say ‘look, this looks like drug dealing to me, the things that you are citing. But the president is allowed a fair amount of discretion in defining what constitutes terrorism,” Turley said.

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Turley said some courts may state that the gang members should be charged with drug dealing, but the president is allowed to extend the definition of terrorism to remove these individuals from the U.S.

“Some courts may say ‘look, this looks like drug dealing to me, the things that you are citing. But the president is allowed a fair amount of discretion in defining what constitutes terrorism,” Turley said.

Trump designated Tren de Agua and MS-13 as terrorist organizations in a Jan. 20 executive order. Following the removal of MS-13 member Kilmar Abrego Garcia from the U.S., the Trump administration argued that his “withholding order” from 2019 was invalid due to the terrorism designation.

“President Trump has declared TdA, also MS-13, to be terrorist organizations which gives him the enhanced ability legally on a number of different fronts, including the ability to remove people out of the country without some of the usual delays,” Turley continued. “That was the case with [Kilmar Abrego] Garcia, one of the arguments of the administration was Garcia is only in this country after losing a hearing and then an appeal because the appellate court held what’s called a withholding order which meant that he wouldn’t be removed even though he was removable.”

“What the administration has said is once we declared MS-13 to be a terrorist organization, he was no longer eligible for that type of order. And that’s an example of how switching over to a terrorist designation can change the dynamic in these cases,” he continued.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is charging Flores with providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, and international drug distribution including cocaine intended to be distributed in the United States. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison and a fine of $10 million.

“TdA is not a street gang – it is a highly structured terrorist organization that put down roots in our country during the prior administration,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said. “Today’s charges represent an inflection point in how this Department of Justice will prosecute and ultimately dismantle this evil organization, which has destroyed American families and poisoned our communities.”

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