Are we getting close to 25th Amendment time?

[kentuck]

Section 4

Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.

====================

President Pence is waiting in the wings?

[unblock]

1. i think you wanted section 4?

[kentuck]

6. You are correct. I will edit it.

[lapfog_1]

2. Maybe

if we turn around and look for it.

But I think it's quite a ways behind us now.

[manicraven]

3. Trump sure seems to be getting nuttier and nuttier...can't even mask it.

[Vinca]

4. We're beyond 25th amendment and approaching orange jumpsuit time.

[Initech]

30. That whole damn party should be in orange jumpsuits.

Every single one of them is guilty - Trump, the cabinet, Congress, the Senate, their enablers like Alex Jones... they're all guilty of this coup.

[Warpy]

5. Not with the GOP in charge in Congress, we're not

Remember, they covered for Reagan's Alzheimer's for almost 7 years as he got worse and worse. Even the Democrats were befogged.

Unless 45 has a major breakdown on the air, so major no one will be able to deny something is seriously wrong with him, they want him in for at least 2 years so Pence will get 2 full terms afterward. So they think.

[unblock]

7. congress isn't relevant for amendment 25, section 4.

only the vice-president and the cabinet. (well, congress is relevant if donnie challenges it).

that said, it's perhaps even harder to imagine the people who just got their prestigious stations from donnie quickly turning around and stabbing him in the back.

and you know donnie surely interviewed for loyalty above all else....

[onenote]

10. Since Trump would dispute any assertion he's unfit, Congres is not merely relevant, they make

the final call.

[unblock]

15. well it's all fantasy anyway.

i think they're all trapped. i don't think donnie ever really wanted to be president, he just wanted attention and to promote his brand.

i think he certainly isn't enjoying it now that he realizes what the job entails, most notably, dealing with strong criticism for perhaps the first time in his adult life.

but there's no way for him to exit and still be a "winner", so he's trapped.


the cabinet and congress are similarly trapped. they really can't forcibly remove him, be it by amendment 25 or after impeachment. this would rip the republican party in two and they'll get primaried and/or slaughtered in the next election.

so they're trapped, too. they'll hope for the best, run as standard republicans but keeping their distance from donnie, and take their lumps. then they'll gear up to challenge him for the nomination in 2020, assuming donnie doesn't find a way out before that.

[kentuck]

19. It may be the only way the sorry bastard can save his marriage?

I read somewhere today where Melania was not happy with being First Lady?

He might be persuaded to write a letter to the Speaker and the President Pro Temp of the Senate? Then Pence would become the President.

That would be the easiest route to take for the Republicans.

But Donald has been such a useful idiot up to this point. He has almost drained the swamp.

[unblock]

21. well he can just resign, if only he can somehow find a "win" in doing so.

mrs. unblock says melania was going to file for divorce the day after the election, assuming he lost, but now also feels trapped.

[kentuck]

32. That would be a good excuse.

He did it for love.

[kentuck]

13. And it would take two/thirds vote in the House and Senate...!

...to replace him if he decided he didn't wish to go?

The final say would be with the Congress.

[unblock]

16. it's almost a why bother clause.

it's easier to impeach and remove, at least if the president is able and of a mind to challenge it.

[kentuck]

17. Does it take two/thirds to impeach, also?

Impeachment might be a possibility as of today?

Trump and Flynn were private citizens until January 20th. The law forbid either of them from making a deal or negotiating with another country, because we only have one President at a time, and if they discussed changing the "sanctions", it would fit the definition of "high crimes or misdemeanors", I would think?

[onenote]

18. High crimes and misdemenors is whatever Congress wants it to be

As for whether the discussions with Russia over the sanctions were a criminal act, the issue would be whether this would finally be the one time in over 200 years when the Logan Act, whose constitutionality considered dubious, would be invoked. I think not.

[kentuck]

20. Precedence is important in law.

I would agree.

The word, "impeachment" has a much more negative connotation than "25th Amendment removal". It sounds more authoritative.

[unblock]

22. 2/3rd of the senate is needed to remove, but only a majority in the house to impeach.

[kentuck]

23. It would be easier if Trump would just send Paul Ryan a letter...

He needs to do it for "family" reasons. (To save his marriage)

[unblock]

24. i'm thinking now would be a good time for him to announce an undisclosed health issue.

and step down for his health, he owes it to his family.

gets much more sympathy.

quitting to save a marriage means the marriage had problem, i.e., he's a near failure as a husband, not good enough for a donnie "win".

hell, given that he's fine with lying, just say "cancer".

[kentuck]

28. Pay his doctor, the crazy one, to say he has some possible fatal disease...

and that he needs to quit for personal reasons...

[unblock]

29. exactly. no one would even care to question it ;)

[kentuck]

9. They just drew an "X" on the floor and told him to stand on the "X" and read the cards...

He could read it just like it was Death Valley Days.

You may be right?

[Cognitive_Resonance]

8. Should be but the GOP seems to believe it's in their interest to continue with the status quo.

At present they're covering and protecting Comrade Cheetoh. As long as he'll go along with their agenda and do the dirty work they're generally good with it, and worst case they can use him as a scapegoat at some point. A very dangerous game that may well blow-up in their faces.

[kentuck]

11. Yep!

They are using him to scrub the floors and do all the dirty work. Then they will throw him overboard to the great whites...

[wordpix]

27. Their silence speaks volumes and makes me think

they're involved in the Russian hacks. call me but that's my take

[starshine00]

14. intel is going to continue leaking intentionally

and the GOP better get their butts in gear because they have constituents who by and large still think of Russia as the USSR and the big bad commies that want to spread communism worldwide...I can't imagine their 'base' is going to tolerate this stuff, no matter how much they want to dream it all away.

[sunonmars]

12. Gorka is on BBC UK doing his best Baghdad Bob impression, he makes Goebbels look like a child.

[wordpix]

25. I'm ready but afraid R swamp rats aren't - thesis:

Republics like Ryan, Turtle, Hatch, King, Cornyn are keeping mum. I think they're involved b/c recall the GOP came in and helped Dump when he was floundering during the campaign. Maybe they helped with the hacking somehow---giving access to certain places, being bribed with Putin's billion$.

[former9thward]

31. I guess I was in another universe than you.

The real one, I think. Republicans walked away from Trump when he floundered. They all walked when the pussy tape came out. The only time they started to come back was the day after the election and then only with hesitation.

[Norbert9]

26. I thought we were there the day after the inauguration at the CIA

[leanforward]

33. Yes to the 25th.