In a recent interview, former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo, who is now a UC Berkeley Law professor, shared his thoughts on various topics, including the efforts to block former President Donald Trump from running for office again and the resignation of Claudine Gay as the president of Harvard University.
Yoo expressed his agreement with legal scholar Jonathan Turley's view that the attempts to prevent Trump from appearing on the ballot pose a destabilizing threat to the U.S. democratic system. He highlighted the unprecedented nature of these efforts, such as disqualification arguments under the 14th Amendment and state court prosecutions in New York and Georgia. However, Yoo suggested that the real concern for Trump lies in the special counsel prosecution brought forward by the Biden Justice Department in Washington, D.C. Trump is currently appealing his case to the D.C. Circuit with the claim of general immunity from federal prosecution, a stance that Yoo believes may have significance beyond Trump's specific case.
Furthermore, Yoo referred to a recent New York Times-Siena College poll indicating that 66% of Republicans believe Trump should be the Republican nominee if he has obtained the most primary votes, even if he is convicted. Yoo attributed this sentiment to the perception among Republicans that Trump is being unfairly targeted by a two-tiered system of justice, particularly when compared to the treatment of other political figures like Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden. Consequently, many Republicans believe that determining the nominee should ultimately be left to the voters rather than the courts or justice departments.
In a final discussion point, Yoo addressed the resignation of Claudine Gay as the president of Harvard University. Yoo, himself a Harvard graduate, expressed his belief that Gay's presidency had become untenable. He criticized her response to allegations of anti-Semitism at Harvard and cited instances of plagiarism as further factors leading to her resignation. Yoo concluded that universities like Harvard ought to take a firm stance against anti-Semitism and threats to Jewish students, asserting that leaders who fail to defend these students should be removed from their positions.
The interview provided a range of perspectives on pressing issues, from the challenges posed by novel attempts to block Trump's candidacy to the necessity of strong leadership in confronting issues of discrimination on university campuses.
