Jonathan Turley Says that Pelosi Liberated Herself from Traditions that Extend Back Centuries

Yesterday after the National Prayer Breakfast, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi(D-CA) held a press conference on the State of the Union. In the press conference, Pelosi defends her ripping up of the “manifest of mistruths” as she refers to it.

A reporter asked Pelosi if “she was stepping on the message she sends to her members, of taking the high ground and responding with dignity, by tearing up the State of the Union Address”. Pelosi replied, “no… it was necessary to get the attention of the American people”. Speaker Pelosi continues with, “this is not true [refering to the issues addressed in the SOTU] and this is how it affects you[the American people]”.

Law professor Johnathan Turley has said that Pelosi’s actions at the SOTU were appalling. Additionally, he has called for her to step down as Speaker of the House, in a series of tweets put out shortly after the address to the nation. Professor Turley tweeted out again this morning stating, “Pelosi doubled down and declared her protests to be perfectly appropriate and liberating. Her declaration of being “liberated” is itself both confirmatory and chilling. She liberated herself from traditions of neutrality that extends back centuries.” You can see his recent tweet below:

Pelosi doubled down and declared her protests to be perfectly appropriate and liberating. Her declaration of being “liberated” is itself both confirmatory and chilling. She liberated herself from traditions of neutrality that extends back centuries. https://t.co/j5yq6RyMzZ

— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) February 7, 2020

Turley has been a critic of President Donald Trump as well. He has had no trouble stating that he did not vote for Trump in 2016. He has, however, been against Trump’s impeachment that was brought forward by the House Democrats. In the article attached to the tweet, Turley reprimands both Trump and Pelosi. The title of the article calls on Pelosi to step down. You can see the article content below:

“The “Liberated” Pelosi Should Now Step Down As Speaker
Now liberating from rules and tradition, Pelosi is free to convert the Speakership into a more partisan role at the SOTU, including the use of the position to mock, troll, or taunt a president addressing both houses. I have joined others in criticizing Trump’s failure to shake the hand of Pelosi and his highly inappropriate comments yesterday questioning Pelosi’s and Romney’s faith. However, that does not give Pelosi license to violate this important and unbroken tradition as Speaker at the State of the Union. Indeed, the silence of Democratic members in the face of Pelosi shattering decades of tradition is equally shocking. In remaining silent, Democrats of both houses have lost any moral high ground.”

Thursday, Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ) introduced a resolution to censure Nancy Pelosi for her actions at the SOTU. 19 other Reps. cosponsored the resolutions including: Debbie Lesko (R-AZ), Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Andy Biggs (R-AZ). The resolution was introduced and then referred to the House Committee on Ethics.