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To: Elderberry

Let’s play a hypothetical. Play along with me on this one.

A President and Vice President are killed. In haste, the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court swears in the Speaker of the House as President.

After the swearing in, it is learned that the Chief Justice didn’t ask the age of the Speaker of the House, and just assumed that they were old enough per the Constitution. He just assumed and didn’t know that the new President was NOT qualified due to age.

Now the newly sworn in President CLAIMS that they are old enough, but refuses to release their birth certificate to the public.

Just who has legal authority for review after the Speaker of the House has been sworn in as President? According to this ruling, it isn’t the judicial branch. Because no crime has been committed, the President can’t be impeached, so it isn’t the legislative branch (and because the Speaker of the House is from the majority party, that party controls the House as well). The President is chief executive over the executive branch so they wouldn’t out themselves.

So I ask again, who would have legal authority?

I certainly don’t get it.


466 posted on 10/29/2009 4:58:56 PM PDT by CJacobs (From the Ozark / Clarksville area)
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To: CJacobs

So I ask again, who would have legal authority?
***That’s a good hypothetical. SCOTUS has the authority. And they decided to take a pass on this issue when they had several lawsuits they could have chosen from during the pre-inauguration phase. It was their job and they abdicated their responsibility.

So, to extend your hypothetical: What should conservatives do when they have a reasonable suspicion that the current POTUS isn’t even eligible to hold the office, and the SCOTUS abdicated their responsibility to engage on this check/balance system set up by the founders?


473 posted on 10/29/2009 5:06:32 PM PDT by Kevmo (So America gets what America deserves - the destruction of its Constitution. ~Leo Donofrio, 6/1/09)
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To: CJacobs
After the swearing in, it is learned that the Chief Justice didn’t ask the age of the Speaker of the House, and just assumed that they were old enough per the Constitution.

Much more likely would a Speaker who was a Naturalized citizen, but naturalized as a child as part of their parents naturalization. (per 8 USC 1401 for example) That fact could easily get lost in the case of the Member of the House, who need not be a natural born citizen, especially if the child was quite young at the time of naturalization.

511 posted on 10/29/2009 6:25:40 PM PDT by El Gato ("The Second Amendment is the RESET button of the United States Constitution." -- Doug McKay)
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