I was thinkin’ about this watching the West Wing last ngiht. And of course, with the current transition of power to Gilligan.
So a bad guy runs for President and somehow manages to get elected without anyone having a clue that he’s a bad guy. (Think that Kevin Costner movie, for instance) Then what happens? Did I hear something about some kind of background check being run on the president-elect? And what if something seriously objectionable turns up? What is done? Do we just say “sorry, you suck, NEXT!”? What are the legal provisions?
I’m not sure that the President is impeachable for something he did before assuming office. In addition, I don’t think that a background check on a president-elect will do either; I don’t think an election can be overturned just because the candidate was found to have a criminal past.
As we learned during the Clinton impeachment, a president is impeachable for just about anything the House says he’s impeachable for, and removable from office for anything 2/3 of the Senate thinks is a good reason.
A contract can be voided if one of the parties is found to have acted in bad faith while signing. Not precisely the same, but:
Before you run for office, you are supposed to be eligible. This means citizenship, residency, and no loss of civil rights(ie, no felonies). Filing for candidacy can be construed as a statement that you are eligible. So, I think impeachment would still be an option, on the grounds that the candidacy was fraudulent.
Then again, Washington D.C. once elected a drug-dealer as mayor, so I could be wrong.
Don’t see nuthin’ in this here document stipulatin’ a time frame during which the aforesaid “high Crimes and Misdemeanors” hafta take place. And, as we’ve seen recently, the phrase “high Crimes and Misdemeanors” means whatever individual Representatives think it means.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Keep the puerile partisan political ping-pong out of GQ. Especially you, Bill. You seem to be making a habit of this lately.
Uh, most everything, every situation shown on the West Wing is wrong. The opposite of reality, usually. ~ Hollywood is allergic to the truth, especially when it comes to politics. - MC
In my copy of the Constitution, they don’t mention that felonies thingie. But you do have to be old enough… so I suppose he could get kicked out if he lied about his age.
The chances of a traitor becoming president dropped sharply once Lawrence Harvey passed away. However, Frank Sinatra has passed on also, so perhaps there is another Manchurian Candidate waiting around in the wings.
I think it’s time to call up W and ask him if he wants to play a game of solitaire. Then we’ll know for sure.
Nitpick: Drug USER. World’s difference from dealer. And Marion “Bitch set me up” Barry presumably got himself clean + sober while doing his time, before giving the folks of the District another opportunity – which they took – to embarrass themselves.
Nothing easier. Marine Honor Guard marches to Oval Office, performs the Latin American Presidential Retirement Ritual. New President pardons all involved.
“puerile partisan political ping-pong”
Alliteration Police! We have a code 3 Agnew, repeat, a code 3 Agnew!!!
I should hope not, I’d want the next bunch of guys to think twice before doing it again. Xcept, of course, for the minor nit that the USMC has no authority to arrest civilians or enforce non-military law. So it would have to be the Secret Service themselves, if at all.(*)
I wonder if finding out about such treasonous activities could be alleged by a majority of the Cabinet to qualify as a “determination that the President is unable to perform the duties of his office” and thus trigger an acting presidency.
(*) Considering that the “XXth Century Latin American Presidential Replacement Ritual” has on a majority of cases involved a firm, businesslike request that El Presidente hand over the key to the Palace, with his choice of a comfortable limo ride to his ranch or to his flight to Cannes; and El Presidente’s reluctant but sportsmanlike compliance, this isn’t as bad as it sounds.
For crying out loud, being head of the CIA (and I don’t think he was even that) does not currently qualify you as being a traitor. Maybe if Leiberman turned out to be a former head of Mossad, we’d have had problems if Gore had been the more intelligent sneak. (CIA is American, Mossad is not. Get the drift? Don’t flame me for a statment of probability.) As it is, having a former KGB higher-up as President/possible soon-to-be-Dictator of Russia (possibly more, soon) scares me a lot more.
