Well… there is a mandatory part of the process where the charges are presented in session and the president gets to defend himself. This was previously waived because Trump knew McConnell would stuff the result in an immediate vote. That scenario no longer applies. So let’s say, one day instead of one hour.
T---- MUST be removed from office before nightfall TODAY. I’m not being rhetorical; it MUST actually happen. There are three options:
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T---- resigns. This would take FIVE MINUTES, but is very unlikely, because it’s the honorable and right thing for T---- to do, and that poor excuse for a human being hasn’t done an honorable or right thing in his entire pathetic life.
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Article 25 - Cabinet members remove him from office, due to obvious incapacity. There are several mandated steps, so this actually takes longer than you might think. It could be completed by nightfall, but it would require a coordinated effort starting immediately, BEFORE breakfast.
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A second impeachment by the House, followed (this time) by swift conviction by the Senate. This is actually FASTER than Article 25. No deliberation is mandated. Congress is already in joint session. The House could vote on this by around 10 AM, then the Senate by about 1 PM, Mike Pence would take the oath of office around 1:30, and the vile scum would be forcibly evicted from the White House by mid-afternoon, to face numerous criminal charges in diverse jurisdictions.
Again, this is not some empty rhetoric. These are real actions that MUST and CAN occur, NOW.
I have already written to my congressman, Ron Kind, demanding this happen. I had to choose a topic from a list; I picked “Homeland Security.” Now I’ll write to my Senators, even though one of them (Ron Johnson) is the only senator who is not only as evil as T----, but also as stupid a T---- (and was one of the six treasonous criminals who voted “yea” last night, in an attempt to end the 240-year experiment in American democracy).
With less than 2 weeks left I believe a majority of Republican Congressmen and Senators want to just run the clock out. In the meantime, if he starts a war with Iran in a childish tirade so be it. It’s not like there’s anything their can do about it.
That should have been " It’s not like there’s anything they can do about it."
I agree. Trump needs to be removed. He’s shown he has no regard for the damage he’s causing and the potential for loss of life. He is too dangerous to have in office even for just the next 14 days.
I wrote to my congressional rep and both my senators. Thanks for suggesting “homeland security” as a topic.
This has probably been said, but if Pence and the Cabinet are discussing invocation of the 25th, you better damn well believe that they would do it with as much discretion and secrecy as possible. You don’t show that hand until all the signatures are in hand and it’s been delivered to Congress.
If these people are even marginally competent, this will happen in secret.
I do hope that pence learned his lesson of yesterday and not call the president and tell him what he is doing.
Don’t warn him.
I heard a Republican congressman being interviewed this morning either on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert or NPR. He was specifically asked whether the 25th Amendment should be invoked and gave a weak answer of “Well, we should talk about that.” With only two weeks left, there’s no time to dawdle.
Just for the record, the headline in today’s Times was
“TRUMP INCITES MOB”
in 45 point letters (actual size 5/8").
I think incite is the correct word.
Incidentally, everyone who broke in yesterday could be charged with felony murder.
“The quickest and most effective way — it can be done today — to remove this president from office would be for the vice president to immediately invoke the 25th amendment,” Schumer said. “If the vice president and the cabinet refuse to stand up, Congress should reconvene to impeach the president,” he added.
Suppose the 25th is indeed invoked. Does Pence indeed go down in history as America’s 46th president, or is a mere thirteen-day presidency too short to “truly” qualify as president for the history books, and Biden will be considered the 46th?
IOW, an acting president isn’t held up in history as the same as a “real” president?
A congressmen has no role in invoking the 25th. What they say here has absolutely no bearing apart from signaling a position on it. He’s not really any different from you and I “talking about it”.
So no.
Pence would be the 46th.
Not necessarily. If they invoke the 25th, but it never gets to Congress for a vote, then Pence never officially gets sworn in. He’d be “acting President” which has happened twice before and those guys don’t get the “XXth” president moniker.
Edit: With the very short window between now and inauguration day I’d bet that’s what happens. Trump gets removed. Congress dawdles within the 21 day window and never bothers to have a debate or a vote on the issue and runs out the clock.
True. I was assuming Velocity was asking if the process was completed.
On what grounds?
I think the idea is that since someone was killed, everyone who broke in was associated with the murder and therefore guilty by association, even if they were 500 yards away when it happened.
IMHO, the felony-murder rule is an extraordinarily dumb and unfair one, but it’s what it is.
Felony Murder…
A person died in the commission of a felony. All the accomplices are equally culpable. It’s actually really straight forward.