George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said Monday President Donald Trump’s crackdown on crime in Washington, D.C. couldn’t be stopped due to the status of the nation’s capital.
Trump announced the deployment of the National Guard to combat crime in the District of Columbia days after Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer Edward Coristine, known by the moniker “Big Balls,” was severely injured when he intervened to prevent a carjacking. Turley said that because D.C. is a “federal enclave,” Trump had the leeway to take control. (RELATED: Trump Makes Major Announcement About Cleaning Up DC)
“Washington, D.C., is unique. He’s able to do this more easily here, because it’s a federal enclave,” Turley told “America Reports” co-host Sandra Smith.“It essentially belongs under the jurisdiction of Congress, which gave D.C. self-rule, but that was not a complete surrender of authority. They have a right to take it back. He has a right to take control of the D.C. police during periods. If he wants to go longer than 30 days, he can do so.”
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“He can also bring out the National Guard and once again, there is no governor here, so that is also easier than would be the case and other blue cities,” Turley continued. “He has already conveyed in California and now D.C. that he is prepared to go as far as he needs to go until he feels they’re taking the needs of citizens more seriously.”
Crime in the District of Columbia became a hot-button issue after Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, an intern for Republican Rep. Ron Estes of Kansas, was fatally shot on June 30. Turley said that one of the biggest factors in the crackdown would be United States Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro.
“The most effective thing for him as the U.S. attorney, our former colleague who is really hitting the ground running,” Turley told Smith. “She has a zero-tolerance approach to crime. At least on the U.S. attorney side, there’s going to be very sharp and tough enforcement. The problem still remains in the D.C. courts, and the laws the D.C. council has passed. This can be viewed as one of the most liberal jurisdictions in the country.”
According to Article I of the Constitution, Congress has the power exercise control over the nation’s capital. Congress granted the District of Columbia “home rule” in 1973, but Congress can disapprove legislation passed by the D.C. government.
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