Fox’s Jonathan Turley Calls House Republican’s Move to Expel Jamaal Bowman ‘Madness’
Fox News legal analyst and contributor Jonathan Turley joined anchor Jacqui Heinrich on Monday to discuss the potential penalties facing Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), who kicked up controversy by pulling a fire alarm on Capitol Hill during a vote over the weekend.
Heinrich first asked Turley, “Could Jamaal Bowman end up facing charges? That is the question we all have in our minds today.”
“Yes. Well, I hate to be an alarmist, but that is the role that Congressman Bowman has laid out for himself,” Turley replied, adding:
I mean, he did, in fact, commit an act that is at least a misdemeanor under DC law. I can be treated as a felony if you believe he intentionally tried to disrupt the congressional proceedings. I think that’s unlikely, but it most certainly can be charged as a misdemeanor, a criminal misdemeanor.
Now, does that mean that it’s grounds for expulsion? I don’t think so. I mean, I think that people have got to be very careful before they engage in the sort of expulsion compulsion. You know, you if you start to do this, you’re going to find a lot of folks are pushing for the the expulsion of others. The fact that over hundreds of years we’ve only expelled five members should tell you something. They always have that power. But I think both sides recognize that down this road lies madness. If we start to expel members, it’s going to become an insatiable appetite.
Turley referred to Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) on Monday introducing a resolution with 12 co-sponsors to expel Bowman from Congress.
“Now, with the nuance that we have not seen the video, obviously, Capitol Police circulated a photo, but for all we know, he is bumbling around trying to figure out how to open the door. We won’t know until we see it, but there have been comparisons made between what happened with him on Saturday impeding the government business of Congress and what happened on January 6th. Are those fair comparisons to make in your view?” Heinrich followed up.
“I don’t think that factually you can compare this to a riot that stopped a constitutional process of certification. Now, if it’s merely a technical comparison of if he intended to disrupt the proceedings. Sure, you can. You can you can make that comparison. But I don’t think it warrants expulsion. I think mature minds have got to step back and say that it did warrant some type of response, some penalty. But expulsion is the nuclear option,” Turley replied.
Watch the full clip above via Fox News.
