It’s not likely at all that Trump will do prison time, or, even if he does, that it would extend past Jan-20-2025.
But if he were, how do you re-inaugurate him? He can’t show up in person on the Capitol steps. Do they just cancel the ceremony? All that’s technically needed is for Justice Roberts to re-administer the oath of office.
A state official could do it. Washington was sworn in by the chancellor of New York.
So maybe Judge Merchan could do a quick trip to Rikers …
Calvin Coolidge was sworn in in his family barn by his dad, a notary public.
As far as I can tell, there is no need for the inauguration to take place on the Capitol steps in Washington DC. After all, LBJ was inaugurated aboard Air Force One at Dallas Love Field.
If that could happen, I see no reason why Trump could not be inaugurated in a dayroom at Riker’s Island.
(Though I agree, he won’t see the inside of a prison.)
That the Chief Justice swears in the President is just tradition and spectacle. Nothing in the Constitution mentions an inauguration. All it says is:
Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:—“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
From that wording you or I could administer the oath or affirmation. Or he could do it to a camera. Or a mirror.
But usually when spectacle is not available, as in the many presidential deaths, somebody who takes oaths is summoned. Coolidge used his father, who was not just a notary public but a justice of the peace.
And since the vice president is presumably not a prisoner, the spectacle can be still provided for him or her, with Trump there virtually. A Trump hologram! Or a giant floating Trump head. The possibilities are endless!
I think it must be from someone authorized to administer oaths.
Next question- if he’s elected, inaugurated, and in prison, would the VP take over until he’s out of the clink? Doesn’t seem like he can really govern from inside, and I can’t imagine the great State of New York letting him out just to be President. (I sure as hell would not)
Does the warden administers oaths to new prison guards?
If I was the warden, the real issue would be that I don’t swear in government employees who have taken the same oath before, and violated it.
The real question should be – how does inauguration work when the person who won the election is disqualified from taking office due to Fourteenth Amendment Article 3?
Govern legally? I think it can be done by secure email. It would be much easier for a President than for a legislator who has to show up for votes.
The real problem might be that he will continue to break the law from prison. Consider:
Mafia operation run out of California prison shut down
Depending on terms of probation, that might present an even bigger barrier.
Thanks for the replies. For clarification, I’m not asking about how the swearing-in of the oath would be done (that’s very easy,) but rather, if the inauguration ceremony is going to be…heavily revised, or just going to be called off entirely. It would be a bit ridiculous to have red carpet, a Marine Corps band and dignitaries at a prison.
New York authorities have signaled, by saying they would allow Secret Service bodyguards into their prison, that normal rules do not apply to Trump. Were he to win the November election, this will be true double. So there would be lots of options. One option would be to give him a cell phone so he could participate remotely. But they probably would just let him go.
The President regularly governs from Camp David and also from whatever vacation homes that the presidents have.
We have to give up notions that Trump would be just another prisoner at Riker’s, whether he’s elected or not. If not, the Secret Service is already talking with New York police forces to create a private sanctuary for an imprisoned Trump. If he is elected, there’s not a chance he would be forced into prison while in office. And forget about a scene in which he’s in prison when he wins. The appeals for the years will drag on for years and every judge will put off a prison sentence until the Supreme Court issues a ruling. (The 14th Amendment won’t apply unless Congress declares him ineligible. See Trump v. Anderson. Pigs will fly first.)
If Trump wins, he will be inaugurated in the regular way, in Washington, with the Chief Justice issuing the oath, in front of a crowd of several thousand, and followed by all the various high-end balls although, unlike Obama, he won’t dance at a half dozen of them.
Everything else is fan fiction.
It’s almost certain that were Trump to be elected President while serving a New York prison sentence, he would bring suit in federal court to seek his immediate release. He could argue that his confinement is incompatible with his responsibilities as President – perhaps, that he cannot “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed” (Art II, Sec 3) from a prison cell.
Although this is obviously unfathomably new territory for our jurisprudence, I think it’s likely that such a suit would be successful.
The magas says he will pardon himself. Is that possible?
The transfer happens in a predetermined place. He pardons himself. Is released goes to a play act swearing in for the cameras. Goes to all the funzies in Washington. Calls Stormy up, after Mel goes to bed, and makes rude comments.
As far as I know, no. Not when it comes to state matters, such as he’s been through in New York, or as he will go through in Georgia. There is a separation of powers between the US federal government and the state governments, and the federal government does not trump (ha!) state governments in matters under state jurisdiction. Nor can it.
I could be wrong, however. IAAL, but I am not a US lawyer.
I’ll take your expertise. I really don’t understand all that stuff.
I just know I hear it said the nuts think he’ll be able to pardon himself.
In the Conjugal Visit Trailer, for the United States of America. Cause we be Fucked.
Hypothetically, he might be able to pardon himself for Federal crimes; he’s mentioned in the past that he believes that a President would have the right to do so, though legal experts differ in their opinions on whether or not he would actually be able to do so (it’s something that’s never been tested).
When it comes to Trump, there’s a lot that has never been tested in American history. Let’s face it, other presidents returned documents upon request from the National Archives. Trump did not, and refuses to believe that there was anything wrong with that, and his complaining that “presidents get to keep documents” is being tested. And if there’s anything wrong with that, well, Biden did it too. Yeah, well, Biden didn’t keep documents in a bathroom, and he returned them upon request. Trump didn’t.
Plus, Trump is the first ex-president who’s ever been indicted and convicted of a crime. That was a test, and he lost.
Y’know, Donnie, you might want to consider a different line of work.
Perhaps the Museum of London could lend you theirs: