Sidney Powell, a former attorney for President Donald Trump, is back in the news with a prediction that Donald Trump could be”reinstated” as president. It is a mystery to me how Powell believes that Trump could be “resinstated” but the Constitution is clear: Joe Biden is our president and will remain so absent his death, incapacity, or his removal through impeachment.
Powell made her statement at a conference in Dallas that has been described as a QAnon gathering. She stated that Trump “can simply be reinstated.” She explained “A new inauguration date is set, and Biden is told to move out of the White House, and President Trump should be moved back in. I’m sure there’s not going to be credit for time lost, unfortunately, because the Constitution itself sets the date for inauguration, but he should definitely get the remainder of his term and make the best of it.”
The first stumbling block is that we already have a president. Biden would be to be impeached and convicted for his removal. In such a case, Vice President Kamala Harris would be president. Even if she were impeachment and removed, her vice president would succeed to the office. The only other process would be the 25th Amendment for a disability or incapacity.
A Yahoo News/YouGov poll last week found that 64 percent of Republicans believe that the 2020 election was “rigged and stolen from Trump.” However, even if such evidence were found, it would not make this constitutional cat walk backwards. It is not enough for a court to determine that a given state election was incorrectly called. In Florida, Democrats claimed that later tallies showed that Al Gore likely won that state. It would not matter however. George Bush was already sworn in as president.
As for the inauguration day, that is set by the the 20th Amendment for January 20th. If a vacancies occurred, the vice president is simply sworn in as was the case with Lyndon Johnson after the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
Turley wrote, “In Florida, later tallies indicated that Al Gore likely won that state.”
This is literally a false statement and should be corrected. The data shows that Bush won Florida, period. It appears that Turley didn’t do his homework on that statement and swallowed the false narrative that the left was pushing.
Shame on Turley for pushing a false narrative.
Steve, you are not the first to note what we believe to be an error. Chappel noticed it earlier, as did I. After things settled down, the Miami Herald (left side of the aisle) was permitted to do another count and found Bush won.
I sent a message to Jonathan a 4am this morning and he changed the sentence sometime after that to “In Florida, Democrats claims that later tallies showed that Al Gore likely won that state.”
Steve, I was thinking about sending a message as well but never got to it. Did he provide the evidence for the later claims? I don’t think there is any evidence based on actual counts showing Gore won. There is the Miami Herald recount showing Bush won and I think one other. Democrats chose where the recounts should occur, but afterward, when everything was settled, they made additional claims. I don’t believe Turley’s revision solves the problem.
Professor Turley likes to pretend that the US Constitution prohibits a fraudulent Presidential election from being overturned and corrected. And, consequently, he likes to attack genuine patriots and lawyers that actually possess integrity, like attorney Sidney Powell. Prof. Turley knows, but will not tell you, that the Constitution provides a way forward to correct a fraudulent Presidential election, as occurred in 2020. Article II of the Constitution has a provision to put the election of the President in hands of the U.S. House of Representatives — the people’s house — with each state getting one vote, with that vote being decided by the weighting of Party representation in each state. And, as a result of the November 3, 2020 election, with 27 states now having more Republican than Democratic Congressmen, and 20 states having more Democratic than Republican Congressmen, and three states being evenly split, the Presidential election, when the fraud is reversed, would be called for Donald J. Trump.
No, the House cannot choose a president at this time. The Art 2 provision is for the date of counting the electoral votes (Jan 6), not a do-over once the president has been inaugurated.
“The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the President.”
You have to read Art 2 in conjunction with the 12A, 20A, & 3 USC 5 which states in pertinent part:
“If any State shall have provided, by laws enacted prior to the day fixed for the appointment of the electors, for its final determination of any controversy or contest concerning the appointment of all or any of the electors of such State, by judicial or other methods or procedures, and such determination shall have been made at least six days before the time fixed for the meeting of the electors, such determination made pursuant to such law so existing on said day, and made at least six days prior to said time of meeting of the electors, shall be conclusive, and shall govern in the counting of the electoral votes as provided in the Constitution…”
Note that after the certification by the states this count “shall be conclusive.” No legal wiggle room there.
The end of the period where electors could be challenged was the date set for the states to certify their electors (Dec 14, 2020). This is why the Trump team was so focused on quickly getting suits heard & expedited. They failed.
There are 2 constitutional ways to remove a seated president – impeachment/conviction & 25A. Decertification of electoral counts is not one.
This is not to say that the state audits are not very important. The fraud & process problems must be located & state govs need to address these with voter integrity laws to minimize chance of this happening again.
So, what redress would there be if in fact it was proved that there was fraud and Biden did not gain the necessary electoral votes? (Other than everyone’s head exploding). Since the Electoral College delegates were, in effect, the ones who elected Biden could they rescind their votes? And, since they were voting for a ticket wouldn’t that affect Harris as well? How could they be impeached on this, it would have to be shown that Biden and Harris knew about the fraud. Or, do they just become ineffectual for the next 3.5 years? I am not saying I think this will happen I am just wondering about the mechanics of it all given the hypothetical.
Good question! Here’s one for you. Suppose the Trump rioters who stormed the Capitol made their way past the guards and got into the Senate chamber and found Pence and overwhelmed his security detail and dragged him from the building thereby interrupting the Senatorial electoral count indefinitely.
Suppose Trump then declared that he would remain de facto president.
In truth, that scenario came much closer to happening than the prospect of Trump finding evidence of massive voter fraud.
What then?
trump supporters did not do this. ANTIFA did and the proof is now being shown in videos and testimonies all over the internet
Click here: https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/70cce120-e3f9-4949-aa07-141dc677398d
“So, what redress would there be if in fact it was proved that there was fraud and Biden did not gain the necessary electoral votes?”
A Federal court ordering a new election in the affected districts/states — just as a Federal court argued in Donohue v. Board of Elections of State of NY, 435 F. Supp. 957 (E.D.N.Y. 1976):
“The fact that a national election might require judicial intervention, concomitantly implicating the interests of the entire nation, if anything, militates in favor of interpreting the equity jurisdiction of the federal courts to include challenges to Presidential elections.”
This is an astute comment. In support, we must recognize that Federal District Courts for years have been issuing national injunctions and the Executive Branch has complied and the Appellate Courts have not terminated the practice.
Thus a crucial, applicable precedent has been set to extend the Courts’ power.
Sorry. Read the case. Donahue was heard BEFORE the electoral count was certified for New York. It has no relevance for the current situation. See my discussion above re timing. Once the states certified their electoral count on Dec 14, 2020 it was not revocable. See 3 USC 5.
There was no fraud.
Your reasoning is fraudulent.
As is your grasp of reality.
So does not the Constitutional provision that only the state legislatures control elections impose a relegating or even cancellation effect on the Federal statutes?
The states control the manner of choosing electors (some states do proportionally, most all or none); Congress sets the date for them to be certified & sent to Congress for counting. After the date of certification by the states they have no more control over the process.
Art II:
“The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.”
States cannot alter their elector count after the date they report them (3 USC 5).
Karen: “, what redress would there be if in fact it was proved that there was fraud and Biden did not gain the necessary electoral votes?”
***
I have been asking that below. The Constitution does not have a remedy for dealing with someone who has taken the Oval Office unlawfully by criminal acts. What is the difference between massive fraud and military coup? Both are criminal. Both overturn a national election. Both are invalid, like a bigamous martiage, from the outset.
I don’t know how the audits will turn out, but if they even indicate the election was sprobably stolen the legitimacy of this presidency will be destroyed. Instead of a popular mandate they will have the Al Capone/Che Guevara mandate. Not a good look.
“I am not saying I think this will happen”
You ARE saying you think this will happen. 🙄😂😭
This is getting out of control. There has been ZERO evidence and 60+ court cases over six months in countless state and federal courts. In order for your theory to be correct, that Donald won, you have to discredit ALL of the contests in every state. And the Republican winners of those races in AZ, PA, WI, etc. are NOT saying their races were illegitimate, are they?
It’s either all or none and that’s how you know the GQP is lying to you.
quite a few of them did because at first several appeared to have lost when they KNEW they had won. they did their own door to door audit within the first few weeks and took their FACTS of the STEAL to the local American Judge who over turned the steal right then and there.
There were NO hearings on any evidence in any of those 60 Court cases. Virtually no witness who filed an affidavit testified and there was clear jurisdiction.
They were all heard on motion, which means that the judges did not have to clear their docket to make room for the cases. If you think judges don’t make short shrift of cases that they think will impinge on their docket or have their political bias influence a motion, then I have 40 years of 1st chair trial work that says they do.
No those judges were probably all intelligent, educated people who were tired of watching Trump’s ham-fisted attempts to usurp truth, justice and the American way.
They sensed that Trump’s claims of election fraud were as big a pile of BS as 90% of the other nonsense Trump spouted, so they paid it no nevermind.
Good for them.
Truth, justice and the American way baby.
IT’s back.
Thanks for proving my point.
Could be no one willing to risk perjury + process challenge minutiae relegated everything to the quickly dismissed pile.
eb
ignore this paid by demoncrat shill who lie Trump cannot be reinstated. these ludicrous foolish people are popping up all over the internet lying that the decisions made by traitors to America either in collusion or threatened by our enemies are legal and NOT biding, the whole joke of the election is now being exposed as the STEAL it IS and again everything that was done as a result of that is also illegal and NOT BINDING. this is just another ploy by the left to pretend the steal never happened and we must obey evil. 110 million and more will never bow to the will of the wicked. we know our laws too and WILL support our real legal PRESIDENT TRUMP. there is NOTHING evil can say or do that will stop TRUMP LEGALLY coming back to HIS office in D.C this year. NO evil we will NOT hear your lies
thank you, comrade.
Shut up and go back to Wal Mart, you prole.
It’s time for everyone to just acknowledge and be satisfied that the Democrats stole the election fair and square.
Exactly. Trump stole the election from Hilary with Russian assistance, and Biden stole the election from Trump with the assistance of the mainstream media. All’s fair in love and war, and we are in a cultural war.
Turley: It is not enough for a court to determine that a given state election was incorrectly called. In Florida, later tallies indicated that Al Gore likely won that state.
***
I don’t think that is true. Subsequent counts by parties not friendly to Bush confirmed that Bush won. That is not a precedent for the immediate case.
In fact, the Constitution does not provide a remedy for fraud leading to the wrong person being sworn into office. It’s a problem outside the Constitution, sort of like secession.
There might be some guidance in English law. They had problems with kings and king pretenders and our presidency is modeled to a degree on the powers of those kings. History might guide, but this is a novel situation and likely will require a novel resolution of some sort that will not satisfy everyone and, maybe, satisfy no one.
Meanwhile, how does Biden [or whoever holds his strings] lead the country if it is demonstrated he, or someone on his behalf, committed electoral fraud to get him elected? Will his executive orders and official appointments or foreign policy decisions have any legal validity?
Trust in government and its decisions will vanish.