Dem wants fellow liberal silenced for disagreeing with the president

Liberal law professor Jonathan Turley’s decision to work with Republicans in a constitutional lawsuit against President Obama doesn’t sit well with Democratic congressman Robert Brady of Pennsylvania. Sarah Hurtubise of the Daily Caller explains.

Turley, a George Washington University law professor, is also a frequent media commentator on political issues. Despite describing himself as a political liberal, he’s long been harshly critical of Obama’s use of executive power and said he’d jumped at the chance to represent the House GOP in the lawsuit against unilateral changes to the Affordable Care Act in its implementation.

Now that Turley’s working for the GOP, Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Robert Brady wants to ban him from speaking out any issue of executive authority — which Turley’s based much of his career on — for years.

“Given that Mr. Turley extensively participates in various media forums, including writing his own blog, would it not be better to prohibit Mr. Turley from making any media appearances in which he comments on the extent of the executive authority of the President in any context whatsoever during the pendency of this case?” Brady wrote Monday to Rep. Candice Miller, chairman of the House Administration Committee.

“Moreover, since the limitation appears to be in force only for the life of the contract, would it not better protect the interests of the House if Mr. Turley was prohibited from making statements, granting interviews or otherwise conferring with any member of the media or media organization for a period of years following the conclusion of this case?” …

… Rep. Brady also questioned whether Turley would “exploit” his law students by asking for their assistance in the case and asked that Turley’s contract be modified to “forbid discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.”

Given that two Washington-based law firms had backed out of representing the House after signing initial contracts, conservative watchdog Judicial Watch is already questioning whether Democrats had pressured the firms into dropping the case. Brady’s request to ban Turley from speaking on any issue — for years after the lawsuit is concluded, no less — is unlikely to ease any appearance of political pressure.