[23 August 2018]
Robert Reich
11 hrs
ANNULMENT OF THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY
Suppose Robert Mueller comes up with overwhelming evidence that Trump colluded with Russia to become President, and that, were it not for Russia’s actions during the election, Trump would not have been elected. In other words, Trump’s presidency is not authorized under the United States Constitution.
Impeachment in the House and conviction in the Senate would remove Trump from office. This would remedy Trump’s “high crimes and misdemeanors.”
But impeachment would not remedy Trump’s unconstitutional presidency because it would leave in place his vice president, White House staff and Cabinet, as well as all the executive orders he issued and all the legislation he signed, and the official record of his presidency.
The only way to respond to an unconstitutional presidency is to annul it. Annulment would repeal all of an unconstitutional president’s appointments and executive actions, and would eliminate the official record of the presidency. Annulment would recognize that all such appointments, actions, and records were made without constitutional authority.
The Constitution does not specifically provide for annulment of an unconstitutional presidency. But read as a whole, the Constitution leads to the logical conclusion that annulment is the appropriate remedy for one.
After all, the Supreme Court can declare legislation that doesn’t comport with the Constitution null and void. It would logically follow that the Court could declare all the legislation and executive actions of a presidency unauthorized by the Constitution to be null and void.
The Constitution also gives Congress and the states the power to amend the Constitution, thereby annulling or altering whatever provisions came before. Here, too, it would logically follow that Congress and the states could, through amendment, annul the actions of a presidency they determine to be unconstitutional.
I am not suggesting that constitutional annulment of the Trump presidency is likely. I am only arguing that, in the face of overwhelming evidence that his presidency was never authorized under the Constitution, there are ample grounds for arguing it should and can be annulled.
Your thoughts?
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Poster comment: Trump Derangement Syndrome
