Jonathan Turley Breaks Down California’s ‘Very Weak’ Case Against National Guard Deployment

Georgia Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said on Fox News Wednesday that California’s legal challenge to President Donald Trump and his decision to deploy National Guard troops to that state is “very weak.”

Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles Saturday to quell riots sparked by an ICE raid, prompting California to file a lawsuit against the administration on Monday to block the deployment. During an appearance on “Hannity,” Turley weighed in on the ongoing legal battle over the deployment and cited historical precedent and legal framework to dismantle California’s case.

“Courts are not in a position to second-guess a determination of this kind. Cases going back to James Madison have said that courts do not have that role in determining when a president issues an order of deployment of this kind. And under Title 10, it says that the president may federalize a National Guard and says that that order shall be issued through the governor,” Turley told Sean Hannity.

Turley said the law clearly states that while the National Guard can be federalized by the president, that order should go through the office of the governor. Turley said, however, that California’s interpretation of the law is misguided.

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“Governor Newsom saying ‘Well, that means that I also have to sign off.’ I think that’s pretty wrong-headed. The Congress knew how to say that a governor makes a separate decision. There’s two other provisions under Title 10 that say that the governor has to give his consent or make a request,” Turley said. “Congress didn’t do that here. It said that the president issues the order based on what he believes is a threat, and that order goes through the office of the governor. So I think that this is a very weak argument going before the court.”

Turley continued, saying that the Department of Justice had filed a brief effectively dismantling California’s arguments.

“The Department of Justice just filed a brief in response to that request to enjoin the deployment of the National Guard, and it’s a virtual anvil, just landing on the California brief. They really take apart California’s arguments and say that ‘No, the president does have this authority,’” Turley said.

Turley said that the law and precedent clearly favor the president’s decision to deploy troops and that California’s case is unlikely to succeed in court. (RELATED: Ron DeSantis Reveals Newsom Turned Down Florida’s Help, And The Reason Given Is A Real Head-Scratcher)

“Basically, California is trying to get the court to assume that they’re going to be acting in a lawful manner, that they’re going to be performing law enforcement functions. They repeatedly state that they are there to protect law enforcement, protect federal buildings,” Turley said.

On Monday Trump ordered 700 Marines to support the deployment of federalized National Guard troops. Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom filed an emergency motion on Tuesday requesting a federal court to immediately block the Trump administration’s deployment, saying that the military’s involvement in local law enforcement activities violated federal law and the state’s sovereignty.

A federal judge on Tuesday denied California’s request to immediately block Trump from deploying Marines and National Guard troops to assist in law enforcement operations. U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer scheduled a Thursday hearing to review the state’s request for a temporary restraining order, allowing both sides to present further arguments.

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