Thursday we outlined review of assertions that litigation to challenge the legitimacy of Trump’s Presidency is the same as birther litigation as to President Obama.  On Friday we examined differences between the (one) reason upon which birther cases were based with the (multiple) reasons presented by advocates for Trump removal. 

   Yesterday’s blog showed the birthers’ lacked facts to their claim and the abundance of facts that support the Trump removal effort. Most of the rest of…

   Thursday’s blog outlined how we shall examine assertions that litigation to challenge the legitimacy of Trump’s Presidency is the same as “birther” litigation challenges to President Obama’s occupancy of the Oval Office.

   Are there similarities between Trump removal litigation and “birther” cases? 

   Yesterday differences between the reasons—actually, one reason—upon which “birther” litigation was based and the reasons—plural—presented by advocates for Trump removal were…

   Yesterday’s blog outlined how the next few blogs will examine assertions that litigation to challenge the legitimacy of Trump’s Presidency is the same as “birther” litigation challenges to the legitimacy of President Obama’s Presidency.

   Are there similarities between Trump removal litigation and “birther” cases? 

   As stated yesterday, a first step will be to compare: (a) reasons cited by “birthers” to (b) reasons presented by advocates for Trump removal

   The “birthers”…

   The Constitution specifies two ways to remove a sitting President: impeachment (Art. II, sec. 4) and action of the VP and others when the President is unable to perform the duties of office (Amend. XXV, sec. 4).

   Litigation—i.e., action in the courts—to remove a President obviously is outside those two avenues, but is not precluded by the Constitution.  Several times in this blog (most recently yesterday, November 15) Donahue v. Board of Elections, 435 F.Supp.957 (E.D.N.Y. 1976) has…

   Yesterday a person tweeted about the argument I have advanced: “Here’s what you need to know about #NullifyNow: There are 1.2 million lawyers in the U.S. One, @marksmall1973, thinks courts can order a new election. The other 1,999,999 think he’s full of [excrement].  Getting a clue yet?”

   One infers I am one in 1.2 million. I am flattered by the sentiment. I feel special. Unfortunately for the author of that “tweet,” his message is flawed.

   People at #NullifyNow seek to…

   “Criticism,” the “act of passing judgment on the merit of something,” takes various forms. “Constructive criticism” is not the only type from which one can learn. In debate at both high school and college levels, and, later, in standup comedy, even mindless taunts imparted lessons.

   When I was retained as counsel on a SCOTUS case to challenge the 2016 elections, I visited a website where lawyers were said to  rip into our case. The culture of the website was familiar. “Regulars,”…

   REPEAT:  the Democratic Party DOES NOT speak for all non-Republicans.

   Over the weekend, Rep Nancy Pelosi and DNC Chair Tom Perez distanced themselves from talk of impeachment of the current occupant of the Oval Office, even though each day brings more indications DT & his campaign colluded with a foreign power—Russia & its dictator Vladimir Putin—to swing the popular votes necessary to give DT an illegal margin of Electoral College victory.

   This is the same…

   If, in 2013, reports surfaced that members of President Obama’s re-election campaign had met, in 2012, with Russian officials to get “dirt” on Mitt Romney OR President Obama cut Vladimir Putin “slack” for human rights abuses, many Republicans would have demanded President Obama resign or be impeached.

   Critically, the GOP would have declared President Obama—who obtained office by legal means—to have committed treason.

   In early July, I wrote that Trump committed treason to…

   Today I step aside from political commentary to another matter of great importance.

   Colleges and universities should not play football.

   My soul mother, a/k/a alma mater, DePauw University, plays football today against our rivals from Crawfordsville, Indiana, in the Monon Bell Classic, the oldest rivalry west of the Allegheny Mountains. (A colleague, last week on FB, wrote the rivalry is “moronic.” I corrected him: it is “Mononic” and stand by my correction.)

   The…

   Indiana went so “red” for Trump that Russia expended no direct effort, here, to “fix” the election. It is difficult to understand how people can deny what evidence clearly establishes: Russia put Trump in the Oval Office, through millions of bots, a weaponized internet, hacked election software, and collusion with Trump campaign officials,, almost like a sci fi flick.

   No one with the IQ of a fig and awareness of Putin’s proclivities for violence and murder would spend a ton of…

   A mistaken belief is the Democratic Party speaks for those whom the GOP does not speak.  “False equivalence” hardly does justice to this situation.

   In 1968, Hubert Humphrey was the Democratic Party nominee for President, but never won a primary.  The party’s rules were changed to give greater voice to the people.  After 1980, in which incumbent President Carter struggled for the party’s nomination against Senator Ted Kennedy, the party created super delegates because party leaders…

   Vladimir Putin wants to damage, even destroy, the United States.  If the occupant of the Oval Office creates chaos, Putin is happy.

   Short-term chaos is nice for Putin. As the rest of the World—the area outside the borders of the United States—looks on, Trump careens from one policy position to another.  Trump bungles this crisis and that.  Trump becomes mired in disputes about a professional sports league. 

   Long-term chaos probably is Putin’s preference.

   The Senate…

   A “fact” is defined as “something that actually exists; reality; truth.” Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed, 2001, p. 691.  There is no such thing as a “false fact.”

   On the other hand, information can be “fake”: “a spurious report or story.” Id., p. 694. As The Washington Post reported almost a year ago, “Russia’s increasingly sophisticated propaganda machinery—including thousands of botnets, teams of paid human ‘trolls,’ and networks of websites and social media…

   For a moment, imagine that on 11/8/16, a computer glitch randomly placed Vladimir Putin into the office of President of the United States. Putin hates democratic principles and has compared the United States to the Third Reich. Putin wants to destroy the United States.

   Most people would have cried “foul!” and the election results made void.

   Let us continue in this vein. Perhaps not enough people expressed outrage and Putin was sworn into office on 1/20/17. A lot of people…

   Some say: respect Trump because Trump is President.  Usually, and ironically, these same people used a horrible racial expletive for eight years at mention of President Obama,  Blind obedience to authority is a quality against which this country was founded.  The Framers of The Constitution created checks and balances in our system of government because The Framers knew about, and were all too familiar with history about, human frailties.

   Yesterday’s indictments startled a lot of…

   This morning’s news is former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and his aide Rick Gates have been ordered to surrender to Federal authorities as a result of the grand jury impaneled to investigate Russia’s interference with our 2016 elections in what amounted to a cyber invasion of the United States.

   Why would Russia “invade” the United States?

   Well, we invaded Russia in 1918 (U.S.S.R. did not exist until; 1922). President of the United States and Nobel Peace Prize winner…

   U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley said yesterday that Russia’s interference in our 2016 elections was warfare. The Pentagon spends billions on cyber defense and nice chunks of change on ads that recruit by hyping how much people can learn about computers because we have cyber warfare.

   Ambassador Haley’s statement reinforces the notion the 2016 elections should be declared void.

   Treason is defined by the Constitution.  Art. III, Sec. 3.

   The evidence mounts,…

   Special Counsel Robert Mueller has investigated Russian interference in our 2016 elections for a few months.

   Unfortunately, Special Counsel is part of the Executive branch and can be “removed” from office by the Attorney General (“AG”) of the United States.  28 C.F.R. 600.7(d). The AG is subject to summary dismissal by the President. AG Sessions recused himself, thus Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein is responsible, for matters related to Russia.  At any time, a la the 1973 Saturday Night…

   If we only address only the horrible things Trump has done since he assumed the Oval Office, we risk loss of focus on the illegitimacy of his election.

   Americans have a right to vote for whomever we choose.  Inherent to this right is the right to vote for a dumbass.

   Some people never will believe Trump does or says anything wrong.  When shown real audio or video of Trump’s antics, these people will deny reality.

   There are other people who “tune out” the possibility…

   “What stupid f*****g thing did Trump do today?”

   That is a good way to start a conversation these days. The always is an answer.

   As Trump approval ratings in the demographic of his “solid” base—white males over 45 with high school diplomas or less, in education—have slipped, and as Trump has made statements either silly or dangerous, more people discuss the possibilities of impeachment and also removal under the Twenty-Fifth Amendment.

   Neither of those options is…