Jonathan Turley says he doubts Dem rep will repeat ‘legally absurd’ defense in court

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley expressed doubt Wednesday that Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver of New Jersey would repeat claims that she was carrying out oversight duties in court.

Interim United States Attorney Alina Habba of the District of New Jersey announced charges of assaulting a federal agent against McIver for the congresswoman’s involvement in a May 9 altercation outside the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Newark, New Jersey. Turley said that bodycam footage could make it hard for McIver to avoid a conviction.

WATCH:

“I doubt seriously that the congresswoman’s gonna make this argument in court because it’s legally absurd,” Turley told “America’s Newsroom” co-host Bill Hemmer. “The fact you went there for an oversight or legislative purpose is beside the point. You can go to a bank for a legitimate purpose but if you rob the bank, that’s a problem. If you go to a facility to ask to be let in and they refuse and then you storm the gate, that is also a problem. Both of those are crimes.”

“Article I does not give members of Congress authority to force their way into federal facilities. Otherwise, then we would have 535 inspectors general running around the country, going into any office they wanted to,” Turley continued. “That argument won’t fly. Now, she can make an argument that she really did not assault these officers, that somehow she was propelled through the gate, but she’s gonna have a hard time with this video evidence.”

Democratic Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark was arrested during the May 9 fracas, while Democratic Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez Jr. of New Jersey were also involved.

President Donald Trump issued several executive orders upon taking office Jan. 20 intending to address illegal immigration and border security, including one that designated Mexican drug cartels, the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) and the El Salvadoran prison gang MS-13 as foreign terrorist organizations.

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