Even if the courts decided today he was not legally eligible, they do not have the power to remove him from office. Only the Senate has that power and they only have that power if presented with a bill of impeachment from the house.
It is out of the hands of any court at this point.
Nope. If he was never eligible then he is not President. If found to be ineligible, the whole thing was a fraud. Claiming ignorance to eligibility status will not be a defense.
The court cannot remove the president.
They can merely rule his acts are not binding because he does not meet the qualifications- when presented with a suit seeking such relief of course.
what a potential mess.
The court should decide on the merits. He may run again in 2012 and this mess needs to be cleared up before then.
Would it also be the case if, say, a President was caught, live on TV, committing murder?
I don't think you have been paying attention to what recently transpired in the White House.
Through "an abundance of caution", the White House counsel advised and Obama agreed to have the oath of office administered a second time.
Now, why was that? I'll tell you why. Because any actions of Obama prior to taking the oath could be successfully challenged as being of no legal effect because Obama had not fulfilled the Constitutional requirements in order to exercise the powers of the Presidency.
This issue differs in no significant way whatever from the Constitutional requirement of being a natural-born citizen. If Obama is not a natural-born citizen, then any act he carries out in the White House can be successfully challenged. His signature on Congressional legislation would carry no more weight than yours or mine.
A reporter asked the White House spokesman whether Obama would be re-signing the executive orders that he signed prior to the second oath-taking. Though the spokesman seemed to be suggesting that it wasn't necessary, I predict that those orders will be re-signed before the week is out.
Obama’s eligibility question has been rendered moot by the fact that he has been sworn into the office. The only way to remove him now is by the process of impeachment.
Even if the courts decided today he was not legally eligible, they do not have the power to remove him from office. Only the Senate has that power and they only have that power if presented with a bill of impeachment from the house.
It is out of the hands of any court at this point.
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Not necessarily so ... these are uncharted waters here governed by a Constitution that was written without forseeing a potential situation like this ...
If (and I am specifying IF) SCOTUS took one of these challenge petitions, they MIGHT determine that ONLY a constitutionally eligible person can enter into the office as POTUS.
If they did, and it was determined that Obama was NOT constitutionally eligible, they might rule that he never entered the office in the first place - even if he did take the oath. Therefore, no impeachment. Impeachment is reserved for an eligible person inaugurated as POTUS who committed “high crimes and misdemeanors” while in office.
It is akin to annulling a contract when one party is found to have entered into upon the basis of fraud - the contract is automatically null and void.
You said — “Even if the courts decided today he was not legally eligible, they do not have the power to remove him from office. Only the Senate has that power and they only have that power if presented with a bill of impeachment from the house.”
I’ve been *assured* by some educated FReepers here (educated by Constitutional lawyers, no less...) that all that is required is for some Marshal with court orders to go to the White House and escort Obama off the premises, for not ever being legally qualified to hold office. It’s as simple as that, I’m told — by these educated Freepers — even when I’ve pointed out what the Constitution says.
I guess we’ll see what happens when a Marshal goes walking into the White House... :-)