House Speaker John Boehner said he thinks he’s found — finally — the attorney who can compel the courts to rein in President Obama on executive action and overreach. He’s hired Jonathan Turley, a George Washington professor with an expert understanding of the Constitution.
“Professor Turley is a renowned legal scholar who agrees that President Obama has clearly overstepped his constitutional authority,” said Mr. Boehner’s spokesman, Michael Steel, in a written statement reported by CNN. “He is a natural choice to handle this lawsuit.”
The suit has been a long time in coming, in part due to the inability of Republicans to find a law firm that would take on the president. In July, the House voted to go forward with a suit against the president over his executive-level changes to Obamacare that were criticized as unequal applications of law.
The Office of General Counsel is going to represent the House in court, but the resolution approving the lawsuit also gave the go-ahead for Mr. Boehner to hire outside legal minds to help with strategy and to file a formal complaint, CNN said.
But a lot of firms turned down the offer, fearing political repercussions, CNN said.
Mr. Turley is a well-known legal figure, making the rounds frequently as an analyst for cable news shows. And his hiring has already received the scorn of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
She called the continued suit against the president a faulty move and mocked Mr. Turley as a “TV lawyer,” CNN reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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