From POLITICO this amazing and startling
story:
There are no constitutional obstacles to Trump from running,
winning, or even serving as President from behind bars.
Eugene Mazo, Seton
Hall law professor, said: “We’re going into uncharted waters again just
like we did when Eugene Debs raised that same question in 1920 when he ran for
president while in jail – the question then as now remains the same: Can a
person run for president, or be elected president after being convicted of a
crime or even serving while in jail? I don’t think we have an answer to
this.”
Mazo continued: “The
answer under Debs as now possibly under Trump still appears to be yes. There’s
nothing barring Trump from running. Even a federal conviction doesn’t prevent
that. Even if he were mentally insane.”
The Supreme Court has
said what’s in the Constitution (Article II, Section 1) are the only
requirements you need to run for federal office, and they are:
1. Be
a natural-born citizen of the United States
2. Be
at least 35 years old
3. Have been a resident of the United States for 14 years
Debs is far from the only person who has sought the highest office in the land while in prison, but he was the most successful.
In 1920, he
became the Socialist Party nominee while serving a 10-year federal sentence for
urging people to resist the World War I draft.
He received 3% of the
popular vote, nowhere near enough to force the nation to seriously grapple with
an improbable constitutional question: “What happens if an imprisoned
candidate actually wins?”
Trump may end up with
4 criminal indictments: (1) in GA for election interference; (2) classified
documents in FL and (3) also docs pending in DC; and, (4) the January 6
insurrection also in DC. Each could trigger serious felony charges and carry risks
for Trump going to prison putting the nation on a historical collision course.
My 2 Cents: Based on the above facts, I have to ask: Why would we
put the nation through that kind of unchartered waters just for Trump?
A ton of questions are open and on the table should he
actually win:
1.
How would secret service protect him, stay close to him, and ensure his safety
while in prison?
2.
How could he discuss or even have access to highly classified information or be
briefed while inside a jail cell?
3.
How could he talk to foreign or allied leaders on our behalf from his cell?
4.
What kind of cabinet meetings would he be able to hold?
5.
How about a national emergency in the middle of the night (that 3 am phone call)
about a serious attack on the country or overseas at an American location or on
U.S. Forces on land or at sea?
6.
How would he deliver this annual State of the Union address from jail?
7. How would he be sworn
into office and make an inaugural address?
On and on the questions would surely mount. So, just change the constitution to not allow, or to allow, that to happen it some might say?
That process could years based on past history – decades even. That amendment process: “An amendment may be proposed by a two-thirds vote of both Houses of Congress, or, if two-thirds of the States request one, by a convention called for that purpose. The amendment must then be ratified by three-fourths of the State legislatures, or three-fourths of conventions called in each State for ratification.”
All that is highly
unlikely, too in this day and age of MAGA and Trump…
In short: The voters must
protect the country and NOT elect him now or ever again to the presidency. We
shall see. Scary, isn’t it?
Finally: Consider this satire about him potentially
spending time in prison. It’s worth reading, but as I said, it’s also damn scary.
Thanks for stopping by.
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