Fox News legal analyst Jonathan Turley surprisingly pushed back on Trump border czar Tom Homan’s suggestion that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) could face prosecution for hosting a webinar on immigrants’ legal rights, calling his threat “baseless” and “an assault on free speech rights.”
Turley, a longtime defender of Donald Trump whom the president has regularly cited as a favorite legal expert, offered up his somewhat shocking defense of Ocasio-Cortez as Homan has spent days raging about her efforts to make undocumented migrants aware of their rights amid the Trump administration’s mass deportation raids.
The progressive lawmaker’s webinar, part of her “Know Your Rights” campaign, provides “important information” to immigrants about their legal rights during interactions with ICE officers. This includes invoking the Fifth Amendment, refusing to share personal information, and asking for an attorney if detained.
During an appearance on Fox News host Laura Ingraham’s show on Thursday night, an indignant Homan fumed that the New York Democrat was “impeding” law enforcement and wondered whether she should face criminal action.
“Is she crossing the line? So, I’m working with the Department of Justice and finding out. Where is that line that they cross? So, maybe AOC’s gonna be in trouble now,” the Trump official groused.
Ocasio-Cortez mockingly dismissed Homan’s implied threat, tweeting “MaYbe shE’s goiNg to be in TroUble nOw” before adding: “Maybe he can learn to read. The Constitution would be a good place to start.”
Homan has since tripled down on his assertion that Ocasio-Cortez should face legal punishment, telling Fox News that he “educated her on this several years ago” that it’s “not OK to assist those in the US illegally.” He also declared on CNN over the weekend that he was urging the Department of Justice to investigate the congresswoman.
“I’m asking the Department of Justice, who are the prosecutors and decide who they prosecute, and what the standards of that prosecution is,” he told CNN anchor Dana Bash on Sunday. “I simply said, at what point is that impeding? Because you can call it ‘Know Your Rights’ all you want. We all know the bottom line is, the bottom line is how they evade law enforcement. Don’t open your door. Don’t answer questions.”
While Homan continues to insist that he’s urging the DOJ to investigate Ocasio-Cortez, Turley took to social media on Tuesday to explain why the border czar was wrong – while still making sure to take some backhanded shots at Ocasio-Cortez.
“Border Czar Tom Homan doubled down last night that Rep.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) might be prosecuted for hosting a forum on ‘Know Your Rights’ for accused illegal aliens. Such a prosecution would be an assault on free speech rights,” he tweeted.
Turley, who Ocasio-Cortez has derided in the past, also took the opportunity to praise Vice President JD Vance’s recent speech in which he lashed out at European leaders and called on them to be more inclusive of far-right parties under the guise of free speech.
“While AOC has never been a defender of free speech, principle demands something more from the rest of us who value the First Amendment,” Turley concluded. “Just as VP Vance offered a powerful defense of free speech in Europe, this baseless threat undermines the high ground achieved in Munich.”
