Americans might remember George Washington University Law Professor Jonathan Turley from the House Judiciary Committee's impeachment hearings against President Donald Trump.
Though Turley insisted he wasn't a Republican, the committee's Republican members enlisted him to argue that the information gleaned from the House Select Committee on Impeachment hearings was insufficient to justify officially impeaching the President.
But Turley's stance on impeachment isn't the only view that's since come back to haunt him.
In April, Democratic nominee Joe Biden said of Trump:
"Mark my words, I think he is going to try to kick back the election somehow, come up with some rationale why it can't be held."
Turley balked at Biden's suggestion, dismissing it as a "conspiracy theory" in an op-ed for the Hill.
Biden's claim that Trump plans to halt the election is utterly without factual or constitutional support. Yet conspiracy theory was called a “prediction" by Politico, even though it should be sold in a set with a tin foil hat and an EMT ghost detector. https://t.co/hRLPgQvEts
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) April 26, 2020
Turley wrote:
It is a conspiracy theory utterly without factual or constitutional support, yet his warning was deemed a 'prediction' by Politico in a recent article. It has been peddled by various Democratic officials and commentators for months and is all the rage on the internet, even though it should be sold as a set including a tin foil hat and an electromagnetic ghost detector."
Turley seemed assured in his belief that it was nothing more than lunatic ranting to suggest that Trump would make moves to delay the United States election for the first time in history.
Almost exactly three months after Turley's words, Trump tweeted this.
With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 30, 2020
People didn't hesitate to point out the dissonance between Turley's evaluation of Biden's claims and the plausibility of those claims just months later
This man walked away from credibility forever last Winter. Now this piece of "didn't age well." https://t.co/KFRwft51Yz
— Gnarly Old Basterd (@Old_Hirshy) July 30, 2020
Well that tweet didn't work out to well there. https://t.co/X9wbIRMcEJ
— Robert O'Mara (@realrobertomara) July 30, 2020
When conspiracy theories turnout not to be theories.... Paging @JonathanTurley https://t.co/zZvYl49QQc
— Justin (@JustInTime_2020) July 30, 2020
Yeah, Jonathan Turley is an idiot. https://t.co/O7GD6MVLKC
— Ryan 🇺🇸 (@RyanSausageEsq) July 30, 2020
With Trump's bizarre tweet brought to his attention, Turley attempted to defend his earlier position in a lengthy Twitter thread.
This claim has become the monkey's paw of election theories — passed from one person to another (and from one party to another) with the same harmful consequences. It makes all of its holders look ridiculous. https://t.co/BGffu1Zo7e
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) July 30, 2020
...I have no idea why both parties remain obsessed with this idea. It is akin to constitutional quackery. We have an election on November 3. Count on it.
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) July 30, 2020
Some are wrongly conflating two equally irresponsible theories by Biden and Trump. https://t.co/POJ6qA01ve It is somehow suggesting that Biden was right all along. He wasn't. He was suggesting that Trump could unilaterally stop the election or use the Postal Service to steal it.
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) July 30, 2020
...Trump is not claiming that he can unilaterally stop the election in this tweet. That does not make this any more acceptable but both candidates are fueling conspiracy theories with these remarks. The law is clear and the election is set.
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) July 30, 2020
Biden supporters are claiming that this proves that he was not insane to declare that Trump would stop the election or use the Postal Service to steal it. No, it means that Trump is pushing equally delusional ideas. What Biden suggested is still absurd and will not happen...
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) July 30, 2020
...As I said in the earlier column, if Trump tried to push pursue theories of defying the election "he would have to join Biden on the subway and whisper to people that he is still the president." https://t.co/byBOiW8hVr
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) July 30, 2020
But few were sold by Turley's defense.
“Mark my words, I think he is gonna try to kick back the election somehow, come up with some rationale why it can't be held," Biden said, according to a pool report of an online campaign event. “That's the only way he thinks he can possibly win." — Seems vindicated, no?
— Mike Lawlor (@MikeLawlor) July 30, 2020
Man, good thing you didn't put yourself out there loudly saying it was absurd to think Trump would do exactly this!
— Jim (@staxringold) July 30, 2020
*Biden said Trump would call for delaying the election.
*You characterized him as a conspiracy nut.
*Trump called for delaying the election.
*Now you are trying to both sides it rather than admit you were wrong. https://t.co/MCDCdXAQeA
— Don Moynihan (@donmoyn) July 30, 2020
One party's leader actually wants to delay the election. The other party's leader warned that this was the case. The two are not equivalent.
— EdYoung (@snuffling) July 30, 2020
Don't try to convince rational America that trump and the GOP won't try any despicable means to cheat or cancel this election. Too many of them face legal consequences without trump and Barr. They will welcome fascism to stay in power.
— Abintra🌎🌍🌏 (@abintra) July 30, 2020
Your logic goes thusly:
Person A: "If you make a wish on the monkey's paw, it will end badly."
Person B: (Wishes on paw; wish goes badly)
You: "Both the one who warned of evil and the one who invoked it are to blame!"
— Lizard (@LizardSF) July 30, 2020
Turley was right on at least one point in his op-ed, however: that Trump has no constitutional basis to change the date of the election.
Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images
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