‘This Has Become a Pattern’: Jonathan Turley Tears Into Democrats For Attacks After Being Accused of Defending Pedophilia, Polygamy

GOP impeachment inquiry witness Jonathan Turley responded to personal attacks leveled against him by a House Democrat at Thursday’s hearing by describing it as part of a larger, disturbing “pattern” among members of Congress.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) assailed Turley for having written an op-ed headlined “Stop Persecuting Polygamists.” Turley explained that he was representing a family “challenging a polygamy prosecution,” to which Krishnamoorthi replied “You’ve been crusading for legalizing polygamy for years. In fact, in an op-ed in the USA Today, you said that a Utah polygamist named Tom Green, who was also convicted of pedophilia for raping his 13-year-old stepdaughter, should not have been charged with polygamy. Now, Mr. Chairman –”

Turley tried to explain his position and past actions, but was prevented by Krishnamoorthi from doing so.

Later, under questioning by a Republican congressman, Turley asked for the opportunity to respond to the allegations.

“I’d like to explain what that and that attack dealt with, if nothing else for members of the committee than for my three children here who may be a little surprised by what they just heard,” began Turley. He continued:

I, as they I think know, I’ve spent my life challenging what is called morals legislation. What the Democratic member attacked me for are laws that dictate to others how they should live their lives. Some of those laws have been used against gay and lesbian couples. They’ve been used against minorities. The individual that the member described, I condemned. I represented the sister wives in the case challenging that law on the basis of individual rights that the trial court ruled in our favor and struck down that law — the first time that type of law had ever been struck down.

Then the witness and Fox News contributor broadened his response to question the worth of such attacks on witnesses.

“I just want to end with one other thing, and that is: It’s not going to make a difference. You know, this has become a pattern of witnesses, whistleblowers, FBI agents, journalists being attacked in Congress. It won’t make any difference. It won’t change the constitutional standard,” argued Turley. “It won’t negate any evidence that you have. But at some point, you’ve got to say enough. You know, that we have to have something, the public has to have something in Congress to look to, to have faith. And I have to tell you, it’s not that I think that absurd attack meant any difference to my children or to the people that are watching. It makes a difference to our process.”

Watch above via Fox News.