Vermont Attorney General Bill Sorrell is back from Turkey, brimming with news about protests, media censorship, and judicial independence.
Mark Johnson of WDEV interviewed Sorrell on Wednesday morning about his trip — the podcast is available here.
Sorrell, whose trip to Turkey as part of a delegation of attorney generals was sponsored by Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Turkish Coalition of America, told Johnson, “I feel like I will be a better attorney general” after having observed the legal lay of the land in Turkey.
Sorrell saw up-close evidence of the anti-government protests -— “tear gas, barricades, and fire” several blocks from his hotel— and spoke with business leaders, who expressed concerns that the protests will jeopardize Turkey’s chances of joining the European Union.
The delegation met with President Abdullah Gul, the Turkish ambassador to the United States, the Ministry of Justice, the Parliamentarian Commission on the Constitution, and Chief Judge of the Constitutional Court.
They also met with Turkish journalists who, according to Sorrell, described having “consciously toned down” their stories when writing about the prime minister.