Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, said Tuesday that President Trump's travel ban on refugees and citizens from terror-prone countries is constitutional, adding that the White House "absolutely" had the right to fire acting Attorney General Sally Yates the prior night.
Turley appeared on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," where co-host Joe Scarborough asked the professor, "Did the White House, did the administration have a right to replace an acting Justice Department official that would not enact their order?"
"They absolutely had that right," Turley responded. "There is no question at all about that."
Trump fired Yates on Monday night for refusing to enforce his executive order temporarily halting refugees and citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.
Turley explained that he believes the executive order banning travel is constitutional.
"On the constitutional basis the law favors Trump on the constitutionality," he said.
After explaining that there are both constitutional and statutory defenses for Trump's executive actions, Turley noted "that's not the type of circumstance where the head of an agency tells all of the lawyers in the Justice Department not to assist the president of the United States."
"This is the same Justice Department that just last year was defending President Obama in arguing for unilateral authority, saying that judges should not second guess the president on immigration," Turley said.
He then listed other examples of the Justice Department defending the White House.
"The whole letter was rather curious as you say, and yes, he had the right to fire her," Turley concluded.