During testimony before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday, liberal constitutional professor Jonathan Turley said that the growth of executive power is "accelerating" and that the growth of such power has brought us to a "constitutional tipping point".

"I believe we are now at a constitutional tipping point in our system," Turley, who teaches law at George Washington University, said. "It’s a dangerous point for our system to be in, and I believe that your response has to begin before this president leaves office. No one in our system goes it alone."

Turley noted that while he agrees with the president on most of his policies, it still "does not alter the fact that I believe the means he is doing is wrong" and that the continued acceleration of executive power can be "a dangerous change in our system."

Turley flatly rejected the Obama administration’s reason for using more executive powers, which the president claims is a gridlocked Congress. "It is simply untrue that we’re living in very different or unprecedented times. The framers lived in these times," Turley said, noting that back then Congress used the Alien and Sedition Act to arrest opponents and Thomas Jefferson referred to his opponents as the "reign of witches."

"This is not a different political time, and it shouldn’t be used as an excuse for extra-constitutional action," Turley warned.