Florida Democratic Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz criticized Fox News legal analyst Jonathan Turley for treating "pure conjecture" as proven fact during a hearing for the House’s new Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.
Wasserman Schultz did not accept Turley's claim he has “unique knowledge” of the “Twitter files” leak of a series of messages between the social media platform's leadership team in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election.
The purportedly leaked messages shed light on the political disputes that erupted at Twitter as its officials deliberated over how to handle the dissemination of a New York Post story about the contents of a laptop owned by President Joe Biden's son, attorney Hunter Biden.
When Wasserman Schultz asked him if he has "a formal relationship" with Twitter, Turley said he does not and only has "an account," which prompted the politician to shut him down immediately.
You can watch their exchange in the video below.
\u201c"So essentially your responses to the questions here today were your own opinion and pure conjecture" -- Wasserman Schultz highlights what an utter clown @JonathanTurley is\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1675967890
After Turley—an attorney and law professor at The George Washington University—admitted his knowledge of Twitter did not go beyond the Twitter files leak and what he's personally read in the media, Wasserman replied with the following:
“So essentially your responses to the questions here today were your own opinion and pure conjecture."
"You said that you don’t have any specific or unique knowledge of Twitter, but you spoke as if you did. ... And so this is only just your opinion, would you say, as a Twitter account user?”
After Turley denied that he was merely giving his "opinion" as a Twitter user, saying he came to "give legal analysis based on facts that are in the public domain," Wasserman Schultz said:
“‘Legal analysis’ is another word for ‘opinion.'"
Many praised Wasserman Schultz for the way she handled the exchange and criticized Turley in the process.
\u201cThe special committee that was supposed to help Trump get reelected is looking like a dud.\nhttps://t.co/ipBabtTCYE\u201d— Lise Latulippe Fully Vaccinated and Boosted (@Lise Latulippe Fully Vaccinated and Boosted) 1676039454
\u201c@atrupar @JonathanTurley @RepDWStweets absolutely brilliant. Very impressive. Keep up the good work.\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1675968158
\u201c@atrupar @JonathanTurley Brilliant questioning from Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz!!\ud83d\udc4f\ud83d\udc4f\ud83d\udc4f \nThis is how it's done!\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1675968158
\u201c@atrupar @brooklynmarie @JonathanTurley Headline: Disgraced hack attorney asked to testify on something he knows nothing about.\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1675968158
\u201c@atrupar @JonathanTurley Beyond Wasserman underscoring that Jonathan Turley does not have unique knowledge, Turley doesn't *strengthen* defense of his "expertise" by repeating 3 times his primary source is the "Twitter Files" \ud83d\udc49\ud83c\udffcWhich have been shredded my many because of their selective omissions\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1675968158
\u201chttps://t.co/w92b8umo3C\n\nIf @JonathanTurley is teaching your child @GWULaw\nget them out immediately. I can't believe that taxpayer money is wasted on this "PROFESSOR" !!!\u201d— Some are "ABOVE THE LAW" (@Some are "ABOVE THE LAW") 1676038308
\u201c@atrupar @JonathanTurley The GOP can't even produce a "fake twitter expert" for their fake hearings. Oh, maybe George Santos was busy.\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1675968158
\u201c@atrupar @JonathanTurley The dude didn't see the bus that was coming, and he sat there and got hit\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1675968158
Turley later made an appearance on Fox and Friends to decry his treatment at the hands of Wasserman Schultz, saying her refusal to hear his analysis of the Twitter files leak is "like saying you have to work at the Pentagon if you want to testify about the implications of the Pentagon Papers."
Turley went on to say that the "whole premise of [his] testimony was that Twitter has now authenticated and confirmed these facts" and suggested Wasserman Schultz and her fellow Democrats are not interested in talking about the government's role in censoring Americans.
