Much has been made about the upcoming election, but it may not matter. Several highly respected legal scholars have come to the same conclusion:
Even if Biden wins, a legal loophole exists that would keep the Presidency in Republican control indefinitely.
After the Lincoln assassination in 1865, Congress met about maintaining stability in government.
The Union had just defeated the Confederacy and reunification and reconstruction were first on the minds of the nation at the time.
Fearing vulnerability from outside foreign influences, the House of Representatives and the Senate nearly unanimously passed the Johnson Act, which made the minimum time that a former Vice President could serve as President to be six months.
Should that six months stretch into the term of the next President to be, even by one day, the new President shall serve for the entirety of the following term and the results of the election are legally null and void.
Legal scholar Joe Barron explained:
“Here’s the scenario: Joe Biden has won the election. During Donald Trump’s lame duck time, he steps down as President, meaning that Mike Pence takes over. Mike Pence then nominates Donald Trump to be his Vice President. The Senate confirms the nomination and Trump becomes the Vice President.
Six months later, Mike Pence resigns as President, Donald Trump becomes President once again and has to nominate a Vice President. I’m expecting he would nominate Ivanka. The Senate would confirm her. In 2024, the same scenario takes place, but this time the elder Trump hands the Presidency to his daughter, who would run again in 2028.
The Trumps would be able to keep the Office of the President in the family for as long as there are Trumps alive. I don’t think that Congress would have foreseen this type of situation happening when they crafted the Johnson Act over 150 years ago, but I suppose it is lucky for all of us that they didn’t.”
The only question that remains is this: Will Donald Trump have the integrity to selflessly give up his office for six months so that he can help to Keep America Great Again?
I think we all know the answer to that question.
