We have been discussing how the celebration of Joe Biden’s election as a “unifying” and “healing” moment has been lost on many who are calling for blacklists and retaliatory actions against anyone viewed as “complicit” in the Trump period. Indeed, for years, I have been writing about a rising McCarthyism in our country and the growing threat to both free speech and academic freedom. This hateful or unhinged rhetoric has on occasion come from law professors, but most academics have retained a modicum of restraint and tolerance. For that reason, it was disappointing to read a bizarre attack from University of Colorado Law Professor Paul Campos who compared my discussion of possible voting irregularities to Holocaust denial.
Professor Campos writes for a legal site called Lawyers, Guns and Money and clearly took umbrage over my discussion of recent challenges filed over the 2020 presidential election this morning. The segment addressed the recent ruling in Pennsylvania that the Secretary of State violated the law in extending a deadline. I also addressed President Obama’s comments about how these challenges may be undermining democracy. I noted that confirming the vote count only reinforces democracy, particularly in identifying problems for future elections.
My comments on the software controversy in Michigan was the focus of the posting and generally my statement that we need to review the actual evidence that emerges from these cases. I have repeatedly stated that I do not believe that the current challenges are likely to overturn the election of Biden as the president-elect. However, I have stated that there is no reason why these challenges should not be considered and problems addressed. There have been irregularities ranging from the improper order in Pennsylvania to a small number of identified deceased voters in Nevada to the controversy over the tally error in Michigan. Again, I have emphasized that these remain localized problems and there remains no evidence of systemic problems that would overturn the results in various states.
On the software, I have addressed the Michigan issue repeatedly in interviews and noted that the votes were given back to Trump and we do not know if such human error occurred outside of that district. I have repeatedly stated that it was caught and corrected. The Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson confirmed that an Antrim County clerk reported the glitch that miscounted 6,000 Trump votes as Biden votes. The wrong designation of Trump votes as Biden votes was quickly corrected. That is why I have repeatedly said that this was not a case of fraud or nefarious purpose. The point is that there is a valid reason to check to see if others made such mistakes of human error. The “vulnerability” of the system was a reference to the fact that there was clearly a stage where the ballots could be wrongly assigned by human error. (In this morning’s interview, one of the hosts repeated that this was human error and stated that this problem had no impact on actual votes. I had already noted that this involved one district and was attributed to human error. The host added that it appears that only five counties had computer issues and only one involved the Dominion software). The reason for noting that Dominion is used in many other districts and states was a reference to the allegations that if system is vulnerable to such human error, it could impact other ballot tabulations around the country.
Campos however ignores the very interview that he references and falsely claims that I am “going on national TV telling lies to promote a paranoid conspiracy theory believed by tens of millions of Americans: that the presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump by massive amounts of voter fraud.”
Every interview that I have given has included a statement that there is no such evidence and that it is unlikely that such evidence will emerge. However, while some were claiming the absence of serious irregularities within 24 hours of the race being called for Biden, I have noted that we are still waiting to see any underlying evidence in these cases. At the same time, I have criticized the Trump legal team (in the very interview Campos references) and previously said that it was time for the team to produce claimed evidence. I have also criticized President Trump for his rhetoric. Indeed, liberal sites have cited my interviews as expressing doubt over the evidence of widespread fraud.
Yet, Campos declared that this commentary amounts to Holocaust denial. (By the way, he includes a tweet from a person falsely suggesting that I failed to reveal that the software in Michigan may actually have been the result of human error. I said expressly in the interview that it appeared to be human error and that there was no evidence of any nefarious purpose. I was not “corrected” by the host who noted that it was human error and one district because I had just stated those facts). I argued that it would be useful, regardless of the findings, to look at the performance of new systems and software:
“What I don’t understand about this rush to end all challenges is what is being achieved here? People treating the president-elect as the president-elect. Most of us are supporting his going forward with the transition.
But we also don’t see the great harm to democracy in guaranteeing that votes were counted. If nothing else, not just for his election but for future elections. This is a very different election. We used new systems, new software; shouldn’t we take a look at that and resolve these questions?”
Campos however called for my termination for stating such views:
Should a history department continue to employ a Holocaust denier? Let me sharpen that up a bit: Should a history department continue to employ a Holocaust denier whose academic speciality is the Holocaust?…
To pursue this analogy further, Turley is the kind of mendacious troll who would just ask questions about whether the gas chambers and the death camps really existed, while of course acknowledging that many Jews — maybe even hundreds of thousands! — died because of “harsh conditions” in the concentration camps etc. etc. so you’re actually libeling him by calling him a Holocaust denier etc. etc. (BTW before anybody gets to that I don’t know or care whether Turley himself is Jewish, or whether he lost family in the Holcaust [sic] etc. etc. because the analogy is valid in any case m’kay snowflakes?).
Campos goes on to call for my shunning by my faculty and professors everywhere. He also notes that I would ideally be fired for such an interview:
“If Turley were a contract faculty member it would be appropriate to fire him immediately for promoting paranoid conspiracy theories directly related to his area of purported professional competence…. It’s s tricky question, but it’s a real one, and Turley should at a minimum be excoriated and shunned by anyone in legal academia in possession of a brain and a conscience.”
We have been discussing efforts to fire professors who voice dissenting views of the basis or demands of recent protests, including an effort to oust a leading economist from the University of Chicago as well as a leading linguistics professor at Harvard. It is part of a wave of intolerance sweeping over our colleges and our newsrooms.
It is therefore an ironic moment as someone who has been writing about the growing intolerance of dissenting views on our campuses and efforts to fire academic. Some have been targeted for engaging in what is called “both sides rhetoric” rather than supporting a preferred narrative or viewpoint.
Campos is arguing that it “would be appropriate to fire” any professor who stated that we should allow these challenges to be heard even though they have not and are unlikely to produce evidence of systemic fraud to overturn these results. That is a view of academic freedom and viewpoint tolerance shared by some in academia.
I am not the first academic that Campos called to be terminated for his views. In the end, I would defend Campos in his posting such views. Unlike Professor Campos, I do not believe that he should be fired for holding opposing views or even calling for others to be fired. That is the cost of free speech. Indeed, Professor Campos is the cost of free speech.
Update:
Notably, CNN Legal Analyst and Stanford Professor Rangappa has sent out a link for people to contact the law school over my interview, presumably to follow up on the calls for my termination. Just for record, I have criticized Rangappa previously for doxxing a student who criticized her and a baseless attack on Nikki Haley. She has also called for sanctioning Trump lawyers.
hello IDIOT…you are an idiot and should not be allowed to Profess anything other than the fact THAT you are an IDIOT.
Amanpour’s a cutie, been on-air many years, now, but CNN doesn’t run the country nor dictate how we should vote nor what to think about the hairball that has accumulated at the polling station. Eventually it will all sort itself out, and chances are like it or not Biden The TelePrompTer Reader will be our new figurehead. Amount of sleep lost: Zero. But the Dominion thing will still have to be sorted out even after they take Trump’s picture down. Apparently something doesn’t point true north about the whole thing…
Jonathan wrote, “University of Colorado Law Professor Paul Campus who compared my discussion of possible voting irregularities to Holocaust denial.”
Note to Professor Paul Campus, who obviously reads Jonathan Turley, your statement makes you sound like a damn fool.
“It’s better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.”
In my opinion, Professor Campus removed all doubt.
Key difference between Dem and GOP claims of election fraud: Dem claims get amplified eagerly by every organ of mainstream establishment opinion (see 2016). Conversely, GOP claims are subject to a barrage of disclaimers and censorship declaring them authoritatively to be false. @mtracey
WTF are you talking about? Hillary called Trump early the next morning after yhe day of the election and conceded, and followed that up with an in person public announcement the next day. Biden invited Pence to the VP residence a day or 2 later and Michelle had Melania to the WH for tea. The 2016 election was much closer than this one.
Yeah, 4 years of the MSM and democrats claiming russia hacked the election. You’re either delusional or lying.
‘Would it greatly concern you if all of the votes in the 2020 Presidential election were routed to Amazon servers in Barcelona & Frankfurt before being reported or is it just me?’
#FightBack for No Hacked Elections
5:14 PM · Nov 13, 2020 @LLinWood
Something to consider is that given this reaction, at least that professor likely believes that the democrats cheated to the best of their ability.This ‘denier’ thing along with calls for firing people and prosecuting them always seems to come out when the left has been driving their agenda on something that is not solid or even outright false. It’s one of their many tactics to shut down any and all discussion or debate that might expose the house of cards.
I have no doubts the democrats cheated and the republican cheating machine at the very least stood down to get an “acceptable” person in the white house. Was it enough to change the result? Maybe. Maybe not. Turley could very much be correct that it wasn’t enough. But this professor and others on the left seem to have a very solid fear that it was enough cheating to change the result so they are deploying all the tactics that they usually do to keep people from looking.
“The Holocaust was the murder of approximately six million Jews by the Nazis and their collaborators. Between the German invasion of the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941 and the end of the war in Europe in May 1945, Nazi Germany and its accomplices strove to murder every Jew under their domination. Because Nazi discrimination against the Jews began with Hitler’s accession to power in January 1933, many historians consider this the start of the Holocaust era. The Jews were not the only victims of Hitler’s regime, but they were the only group that the Nazis sought to destroy entirely.”
https://www.un.org/en/holocaustremembrance/EM/partners%20materials/FAQ%20Holocaust%20EN%20Yad%20Vashem.pdf
“Rejecting any denial of the Holocaust as a historical event, either in full or in part, the General Assembly adopted a resolution (A/RES/60/7) by consensus condemning “without reserve” all manifestations of religious intolerance, incitement, harassment or violence against persons or communities based on ethnic origin or religious belief, whenever they occur.”
https://www.un.org/en/holocaustremembrance/index.shtml
Every day good hard working people in America and beyond are waking up to the Jew lies especially the 6 million
Rabbi Sacks, may he rest in peace:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q884XclVE0&w=560&h=315%5D
The Professor has a point. The numbers of Holocaust victims has been downgraded over the years while the numbers of Holocaust survivors and next of kin has increased. All begging for reparations from Germany of course.
Meh, not a surprise. Jewish people constantly live in 1930, summoning up the ghost of Hitler whenever they cross paths with an idea that they dislike. Opposing immigration makes you Hitler, unless, of course, you are talking about Israel — then it is perfectly fine.
There’s nothing wrong with questioning poll results, and there’s nothing wrong with raising questions about historical events.
Turley writes: “In the end, I would defend Campos in his posting such views.”
If Turley believes he can sue Campos for libel but chooses not to, or if he believes he cannot sue Campos for libel and therefore doesn’t, is this (in either case) because Turley’s conception of free speech, and of the Constitution more generally, is to some degree alive with Christian grace?
Professor Campus is either an idiot or anti-semitic. His statement trivializes the suffering and death of six million Jews at the hands of the Nazis. I am not a Jew, but I am extremely offended by his statement. Also, for four years the Democrats have accused Trump of rigging the
2016 election which he won. What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander!
John Fetterman (Lt. Gov. of PA):
“Let me be 💯 clear:
“Over 6M votes cast, there’s exactly 2 cases of criminal voter fraud in PA.
“👉 Luzerne Republican voting for a dead mom 👵🏻💀🗳
“👉 Chester Republican voting for a live democrat son. 👨🏻🦲👩🏻🦲🗳
“10 days of every Republican frenetically searching: TWO CASES.
“This must end.
“Math >> Lies
“I don’t know who needs to hear this but, aside from the epic, ironic, hilarity of these two episodes of voter fraud, it powerfully + conclusively demonstrates HOW HARD it is to commit voter fraud and the SYSTEM WORKS. …”
https://twitter.com/JohnFetterman/status/1327619075971932160
Evidence for the two instances of voter fraud is included in his thread.
Trump is a pathological liar and doesn’t care how much harm his lies do. He only cares about what he believes benefits him.
Agree.
Judge’s ruling in Michigan election fraud case. njoy:
http://cdn.cnn.com/cnn/2020/images/11/13/costantino.et.al.v.wayne.boc.et.al.opinionorder.pdf
Meanwhile:
Over 6M votes cast, there’s exactly 2 cases of criminal voter fraud in PA.
Right pointing backhand index Luzerne Republican voting for a dead mom Older womanSkull🗳
Right pointing backhand index Chester Republican voting for a live democrat son. Man, baldWoman, bald🗳
10 days of every Republican frenetically searching: TWO CASES.
Yeah, it reads like a Valentine to the Michigan election officials. “Well respected” this or “highly thought of that.” “Obsequious” doesn’t begin to describe this lapdog judge.
Reparations. Recently the media has said that native american Indians “are people if color”.
My mother’s side has some Osage Indian ancestry. Therefore I am entitled to reparations from the government.
Me too, but I would be ashamed to ask for it.
Speaking of Morlocks.
“Notably, CNN Legal Analyst and Stanford Professor Rangappa has sent out a link for people to contact the law school over my interview, presumably to follow up on the calls for my termination.
***
Professor — You are too honest and too rational to have been left free to speak by these people. I have worried that the Morlocks would get around to you. It will get worse with a Biden presidency I suspect.
Perhaps you could do a comment on the potential civil liability incurred when one attempts to raise a mob to destroy someone’s peace, reputation and career. There may be some neglected remedy lying around in the big basements of the common law.
I’m sure that if JT finds a remedy, you’ll want that civil liability to apply to Trump and his attempts to destroy people’s peace, reputation and career.
In Michigan”The wrong designation of Trump votes as Biden votes was quickly corrected.”
***
Why do these mistakes almost always favor the Democrat?
Why don’t you prove it almost always favors the Democrats?
🤣 Prove it almost doesn’t.
Why?
“We are on the precipice of essentially a new American Revolution…”