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VP Mike Pence Rejects Pelosi Demand To Invoke 25th Amendment To Remove Trump

VP Mike Pence Rejects Pelosi Demand To Invoke 25th Amendment To Remove Trump

“Last week, I did not yield to pressure to exert power beyond my constitutional authority to determine the outcome of the election, and I will not now yield to efforts in the House of Representatives to play political games at a time so serious in the life of our Nation.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKy84YmL-sU

On January 6, 2021, Vice President Mike Pence refused demands that he use his role as President of the Senate to refuse to count electoral votes from six contested states that were certified for Biden. Pence took the position that he had no such constitutional power.

Pence was correct, for the reasons I wrote on December 31, 2020, No Mike Pence Can’t Just Reject Electoral Certifications.

Note the words. “Shall … open all the Certificates” and “the Votes shall then be counted.” Shall is mandatory, there is no discretion. The certificates must be opened by Pence, and the votes must be counted (it’s unclear who does the counting, but the votes must be counted regardless). No Vice President (whether Mike Pence, Al Gore or future VP Kamala Harris) performing the function of opening the votes has discretion to reject votes. No Vice President has authority to accept votes presented through some extra-constitutional other process.

There is an interesting legal question of what would happen if a state authority presented conflicting votes — for example the legislature certified one set of electors but the executive branch certified a different set — but that has not happened here. No state authority has certified more than one set of electors. A bunch of legislators acting on their own getting together outside the constitutional certification process to announce electors is not presented for counting any more than if I got together with some friends and we delivered an envelope to Pence with our chosen slate of electors. Maybe if legislatures (not legislators) had so acted, we would have a legal conundrum, but that has not happened.

The Congressional legislation provides a mechanism for objections to be raised and resolved. Neither the constitution nor the legislation makes the Vice President king for a day.

After the Capitol Hill riot of January 6, 2021, Democrats have demanded that Pence invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump’s presidential powers. The House is debating and voting, as I write, on a resolution demanding Pence do so.

Pence has rejected that demand as contrary to the constitution, and refuses to do so. In a letter released tonight Pence writes:

Dear Madam Speaker:

Every American was shocked and saddened by the attack on our Nation’s Capitol last week, and I am
grateful for the leadership that you and other congressional leaders provided in reconvening Congress
to complete the people’s business on the very same day. It was a moment that demonstrated to the
American people the unity that is still possible in Congress when it is needed most.

But now, with just eight days left in the President’s term, you and the Democratic Caucus are
demanding that the Cabinet and I invoke the 25th Amendment. I do not believe that such a course of
action is in the best interest of our Nation or consistent with our Constitution. Last week, I did not
yield to pressure to exert power beyond my constitutional authority to determine the outcome of the
election, and I will not now yield to efforts in the House of Representatives to play political games at a
time so serious in the life of our Nation.

As you know full well, the 25th Amendment was designed to address Presidential incapacity or
disability. Just a few months ago, when you introduced legislation to create a 25th Amendment
Commission, you said, “[a] President’s fitness for office must be determined by science and facts.”
You said then that we must be “[ v ]ery respectful of not making a judgment on the basis of a comment
or behavior that we don’t like, but based on a medical decision.” Madam Speaker, you were right.
Under our Constitution, the 25th Amendment is not a means of punishment or usurpation. Invoking
the 25th Amendment in such a manner would set a terrible precedent.

After the horrific events of this last week, our Administration’s energy is directed to ensuring an
orderly transition. The Bible says that “for everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose
under heaven . .. a time to heal, … and a time to build up.” That time is now. In the midst of a global
pandemic, economic hardship for millions of Americans, and the tragic events of January 6th, now is
the time for us to come together, now is the time to heal.

I urge you and every member of Congress to avoid actions that would further divide and inflame the
passions of the moment. Work with us to lower the temperature and unite our country as we prepare to
inaugurate President-elect Joe Biden as the next President of the United States. I pledge to you that I
will continue to do my part to work in good faith with the incoming administration to ensure an orderly
transition of power. So help me God.

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to the full extent allowed by law.

Comments

Seems pretty standard Pence.

I have always thought that God granted Mike Pence a special disposition that left him peculiarly suited to deal with the challenges of working as #2 to President Trump. Trump is obviously a difficult person to work for.

Pence served as VP with grace and dignity, without even the whisper of a scandal. He also served as a true executive in his capacity as point man for the coronavirus response. When the nation needed him most, he did not resort to tyranny; he provided common sense suggestions that individuals could weigh for themselves. A lion of a Vice President. I will miss him.

    Re being difficult to work with:

    Trump has been in public life for over 40 years. Odd how no one ever complained he was difficult to work with until he moved into our insanely corrupt, treasonous rathole we bizarrely refer to as “our government”.

      Apparently you’ve never read the allegations in the numerous civil lawsuits filed against him during his years in business. He stiffed many contractors who did work for him under the assumption that he’d pay them as originally agreed upon. He facilitated many good things as President and should be admired for them, but a paragon of virtue or fair dealing he is not.

        Valerie in reply to RNJD. | January 13, 2021 at 6:20 am

        He was in construction. Lawsuits are part of the business.

          RNJD in reply to Valerie. | January 13, 2021 at 9:34 am

          Stiffing those that work for you shouldn’t be.

          sheepgirl in reply to Valerie. | January 13, 2021 at 11:30 am

          Not paying contractors who do crap work that is not to the agreed specifications is very normal in construction.

          RNJD in reply to Valerie. | January 13, 2021 at 1:14 pm

          Right, I forgot for a moment that Trump is always the victim. Poor little Donny. Guess he won’t get that carving on Mount Rushmore…unless there’s a loser’s award for being the first US President to be impeached twice. Even Clinton couldn’t pull that off.

    20keto20 in reply to John_Locke. | January 13, 2021 at 3:03 am

    You, sir, are rushing to judgment. It would appear that the reason for the rushed “impeachment” is to have it over and done with before the facts can come out. The FBI apparently warned the Capitol police before hand. It would also appear that not all of the “insurrectionists” were Trump supporters. Rushing to “impeachment” for the sake of removing the President’s ability to run in the future is not much of a reason. With what they are appearing to do, Liz Cheney must have desires to set her own father up with a possible delayed impeachment for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Maybe she is looking to switch parties and needs to “prove” herself to the Democrat party. If so, it won’t work!

Just wish he had issued his letter for accepting the electorial votes from the states several days before it was delivered the morning of Jan 6. THAT would have made a BIG difference. Establishment Boy set in motion part of the set up for disaster.

When Trump supporters finally put it together that they were set up and had by DC, the Dems, the Capitol police and somewhat by Pence …. the despair will give way to white hot anger. That said, being mostly “white’ (with really strong upswing in minorities), it’s time to go to the back of the Recovery Bus and shout up. The complete reversal of segregation, racism and bigotry has been accomplished.

I’ve never witnessed the democrats consumed with this much fear. Why? He only has 8 days left.

    cgray451 in reply to technerd. | January 12, 2021 at 9:33 pm

    Your brain doesn’t function correctly. Democrats aren’t “afraid” of anything. They’re rightfully attempting to remove a madman from the most powerful office in the world.

      Turtler in reply to cgray451. | January 12, 2021 at 10:27 pm

      “He admitted Trump pressured him to illegally overturn a presidential election. That would be as impeachable an act as it gets.”

      Oh little bitch, you clearly do not understand constitutional law or impeachment.

      There was nothing illegal about lobbying to refuse to certify electoral votes when one party (rightfully or wrongly) believed there was grounds for fraud. President John Adams pressured both his Vice President and other Electors to vote for Thomas Jefferson over Aaron Burr in the election of 1800. Unlike lobbying to reject a slate of electors from a state THAT possibility was not explicitly acknowledged in the Constitution, and ergo would be far more “illegal” than what Trump did.

      So nice job trying to argue that a Constitutional Framer did something illegal vis a vis the electoral college.

      (Adams did plenty of other unconstitutional stuff but this isn’t one of them).

      “Your brain doesn’t function correctly….”

      Stop projecting.

      Besides, anything he’s posted over time here has been miles above the propaganda b.s. you have.

      20keto20 in reply to cgray451. | January 13, 2021 at 3:10 am

      They have been enraged since 2016. They fear Trump and always have, mainly because he cannot be bought by the globalists, CoC, climate imagineers, and their ilk. Trump is the closest thing in the last century and a half to the founding fathers of this country. I realize that you are likely more inclined toward Socialism and possibly totalitarianism but you need to wait for the facts. Just like the sham impeachment the first time, this one is being orchestrated out of the fear that he may run again in 2024. The truly scary part (and the reason for all the shutdowns for the long term in Democrat areas is not fear over the virus but fear over the number of minorities who jumped ship in favor of the man who got them off the federal dole and into a job) is that during Trump’s term, the anger of the radical left has grown with Congressional dog whistles and outright calls for violence (witness Maxine Waters, Cory Booker, et al).

      mailman in reply to cgray451. | January 13, 2021 at 4:31 am

      This is possibly the most down votes I’ve ever seen at LI…and that says something given the quality of the dumb fucks you are being measured against like rags and markymark311 and millhouse et al ???

      Turtler in reply to cgray451. | January 13, 2021 at 5:14 am

      “Your brain doesn’t function correctly.”

      This is rich coming from someone who spewed nonsense about Trump’s actions being “illegal” while not knowing history.

      “Democrats aren’t “afraid” of anything.”

      Really now? So I just imagined their hysteria over fascism, white supremacy, and so on?

      “They’re rightfully attempting to remove a madman from the most powerful office in the world.”

      if you think Trump is the madman here, you haven’t seen Eric Swalwell.

      Ghost Rider in reply to cgray451. | January 13, 2021 at 7:39 am

      Are they trying to impeach Biden before he even takes the oath of office? /s

    JHogan in reply to technerd. | January 12, 2021 at 10:08 pm

    They’re haunted by, and in dread fear of, images of massive Trump rallies from now thru 2024.

    They think they need to drive a stake into him.

    InEssence in reply to technerd. | January 12, 2021 at 10:29 pm

    They might be afraid that Trump will declassify some of the crimes that they committed.

    The declassifcation of records.

Much to polite. He should have just ignored the resolution and said that was what he was doing. If he thought he had to respond he should have just written Nuts on the resolution and returned it.

    cgray451 in reply to Bill West. | January 12, 2021 at 9:34 pm

    He admitted Trump pressured him to illegally overturn a presidential election. That would be as impeachable an act as it gets.

      gonzotx in reply to cgray451. | January 12, 2021 at 9:37 pm

      Trump asked him to post phone the certification until the real audits could be done – 10 freaking days

      He didn’t ask him to overturn a fraudulent election

      And Professor, many legal minds say you are wrong

        InEssence in reply to gonzotx. | January 12, 2021 at 10:32 pm

        Don’t assume that it has a mind. Your complaint might be a response to a bot. Clearly it doesn’t demonstrate any form of intelligence. I’ll go out on a limb, and say it is a bot.

        mark311 in reply to gonzotx. | January 13, 2021 at 3:42 am

        What audits, these haven’t been granted as relief by courts nor is it likely that they will. It’s a sham argument. The intent of Trump was pretty clear to try and prevent the transition at all.

      “Your brain doesn’t function correctly….”

      More evidence. Do you even work?

      Milhouse in reply to cgray451. | January 13, 2021 at 1:42 am

      Wrong. He said Trump pressured him to exercise a power that he believes he does not have. Trump obviously believes he does have it. It’s not illegal to do that.

      Now do Pelosi suggesting to the military chiefs that they stage a coup. She can’t be prosecuted for it, but that’s still what it was.

      20keto20 in reply to cgray451. | January 13, 2021 at 3:12 am

      Please go back to CNN or MSNBC. You need to stay with those who can only follow the Marxist drivel, not where thinking people are reading!

Pence, you are an ass

Every American was shocked and saddened by the attack on our Nation’s Capitol last week, and I am
grateful for the leadership that you and other congressional leaders provided in reconvening Congress
to complete the people’s business on the very same day. It was a moment that demonstrated to the
American people the unity that is still possible in Congress when it is needed most.

    MarkS in reply to gonzotx. | January 13, 2021 at 6:28 am

    You do not speak for every American, much less me! I was heartened and pleasantly surprised by the mostly peaceful protest at the Capitol! Our overlords need reminding that they are not and will never be safe from the wrath of the people whose lives they wish to control! Despite thousands of pages of voting fraud documentation, as presented by Cruz and others, Congress knowingly certified a fraudulent election which make them as guilty as those that voted or counted more than once!

It’s interesting how many trolls come out on THIS thread. I guess that’s what Pence attracts.

    Pence was dutiful under Trump. However, I believe he is more dutiful to the dirty word known as the “Republican” party.

    Who knows if he conspired with that traitor William Barr all this time.

    Barr single-handedly destroyed America. Literally. No hyperbole at all.

      Barr Was a dutiful lapdog supporting Trump even where it was somewhat suspect. As soon as someone disagrees with Trump they are labelled a traitor. You seem to apply a standard that means Trump cannot be wrong ever even when it’s clear that he is. That standard is representative of an autocrat not a republic. Having a series of sychophants holding leadership positions in a democracy isn’t great

        Valerie in reply to mark311. | January 13, 2021 at 6:30 am

        President Trump has never acted like an autocrat. He consults with counsel, and follows their advice. This has been abundantly clear from every action he has taken. His respect for process and our institutions and fundamental fairness is an underlying reason for his great popularity.

        MarkS in reply to mark311. | January 13, 2021 at 6:32 am

        You are funny! Barr exposed himself as a corrupt Deep Stater with his phony investigation. He allowed his buddies to escape prosecution for the very same crimes he allowed Trump’s allies to be prosecuted for. The best he could do with Clinesmith is a plea to a crime that has a 6 month max sentence.

Pelosi essentially tore it up after reading it.

Maybe before reading it.

Or never reading it.

After one of her minions told her Pence said ‘No’.

Oh, bother. Time for a scoop or two of $100/gallon gourmet ice cream.

Cocaine Mitch however has told the world he is open to impeaching the President

He got his marching orders from the CoC Donahue….

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Will Stop Financial Support for Congress Members Who Support President Trump
Posted on January 12, 2021 by Sundance
It should come as no surprise the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (CoC) would join hands with leftist democrats & begin withholding financial support for congressional representatives who supported President Trump. You might remember in August of 2020 when the CoC admitted to supporting far-left democrats in the 2020 election cycle.

WASHINGTON DC – The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the powerful pro-business [multinational] lobbying group, said Tuesday it will halt political contributions to certain lawmakers following the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol last week.

“There are some members that by their actions will have forfeited the support of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Period, full stop,” Neil Bradley, chief policy officer at the Chamber, said in a press conference.

[…] “It’s also a mistake not to recognize the elected officials who really stood up in very trying and difficult circumstances and we’re going to continue to operate a program that supports them and helps them in our efforts to lead our country,” he said. (read more)

Pence isn’t a leader.

Pence should never darken the door of the Oval Office again.

I was just over at Breitbart.
I made a comment: ” Hello, just checking to see if I need a Moderator to clear this ”

Yes, I do. I cannot even say Hello there.

PDJT stated today that biden and a biden administration have a lot more to fear from the 25th Amendment than he does (he said he has zero worry about it). My guess is PDJT releases a ton of declassified information 11:59am 20JAN2021. biden get sworn in, and the world has the rest of eternity to see how this coup was consummated. Except it won’t take eternity. It will be a matter of days before the extent of corruption is apparent. The clinton foundation pay to play. U1. The weiner, awan, and hunter laptops. Hard evidence of election fraud demonstrating beyond all doubt PDJT won a huge landslide victory, stolen in the exact ways presented to everyone since 04NOV2020. joe biden corruption will be front and center in this information dump. The money trail from the ccp, Ukraine and a host of other grifts and scams. kamala will likewise be exposed in much of this. Everyone who rushed ahead with this coup will be exposed, and it won’t just be democrats. The uniparty/swamp/deep state is going to collapse upon itself. My guess is they swamp knows this is coming, and is now trying to throw up every hail-Mary pass they can think of. I’m also guessing Mike Pence knew all of this, and let Congress do what it did in order to let it burn to the ground, so we can rebuild a true, Constitutional Republic by, of and for the People. Or maybe I’m too far into my bottle of Scotch, but I’m not going to bet against Donald Trump. Not ever.

    Milhouse in reply to CKYoung. | January 13, 2021 at 1:46 am

    No, he didn’t mean any of that. He was simply referring to Biden’s senility.

      MarkS in reply to Milhouse. | January 13, 2021 at 6:37 am

      So mind reading is included amongst your limitless talents! Nancy made a quip about the 25th being used on the next president

        mailman in reply to MarkS. | January 13, 2021 at 9:34 am

        That and also an innate understanding of the constitution and EVERY law on the books. Truly, the size of Millhouse’s brain is unmeasurable.

Lot’s of legitimate presidents start off trying the prior for Crimes against the mob.

    Where did you pull that statistic, out of – kamala harris fat ass?

    You ‘speak’ to hear yourself ‘talk’, no matter how off the wall your statments are.

    There was an impecible honor system in place before bill clinton began to destroy it. Obama finished the job

    20keto20 in reply to Andy. | January 13, 2021 at 3:19 am

    But 2 terms of Obama doesn’t count as “lots”

No Vice President (whether Mike Pence, Al Gore or future VP Kamala Harris) performing the function of opening the votes has discretion to reject votes.

I still think you’re wrong about this, for the very reason that you yourself give a few lines later:

A bunch of legislators acting on their own getting together outside the constitutional certification process to announce electors is not presented for counting any more than if I got together with some friends and we delivered an envelope to Pence with our chosen slate of electors.

Exactly. But who determines whether a certificate is from the electors duly appointed from their state in the manner directed by that state’s legislature, or is merely from you and your friends, or “a bunch of legislators”? Who decides whether a certificate is “presented for counting”? Someone has to decide that, and it seems to me that the only person who can decide is the vice president, since it’s his duty to open the valid certificates and only the valid certificates.

So if he believed that the certificate purporting to be from PA’s 20 duly appointed electors is not that, i.e. if he believed that the signatories had in fact not been appointed in the manner prescribed by the PA legislature, then it seems to follow as the day the night that he can and must reject it. The fact that the state governor and secretary of state say it’s genuine is neither here nor there; the constitution doesn’t give them a role in the matter, and the Electoral Count Act had no authority to give them such a role.

Perhaps you meant merely that he lacks that discretion if he doesn’t genuinely doubt that a certificate is genuine. I assume that’s what Pence meant when he said that he had to open them; that he was satisfied in his own mind that they were genuine, and therefore he could not reject them. But had he shared Trump’s belief that the certificates from those states are invalid, do you really think he would have had to open them anyway?

In the same way, Pence and a cabinet majority clearly do have the power to remove Trump — if and only if they believe him incapable of doing his job. Pence doesn’t dispute that, he merely says that that isn’t the case here. He doesn’t believe Trump to be disabled, and therefore can’t remove him.

To go along with Pelosi he would have to pretend to believe the president is incompetent, and to go along with Trump he would have had to pretend to believe the certificates from certain states are not genuine article. In both cases he could almost certainly get away with it; nobody can second-guess him. But it would violate his oath, and he’s an honorable man who won’t do that.

Nanzi trying to get her mutiny finished by others, well guess you will haved to do it yourself.

would agree pence is an honorable man albeit a weak one–the man who really betrayed the american people is roberts–for however long the court endures, the taint of robert’s treason will remain–if he’s remembered at all it will be as a coward and a traitor to his country–time will never wash away his betrayal

Pence is an Establishment politician. Ultimately he is going to fall in line with the wishes of the Establishment. And the Establishment wants Trump out of office.

The problem here is the same one that existed with Barack Obama and his qualifications for the Office of President. In both cases, there was significant evidence that the claims were true. But, in both cases, the authorities charged with investigating these claims and the courts refused to entertain them. They provided no remedies. It did not mean that the claims were not valid.

With regard to the election fraud, a significant portion of the US population is demanding that the claims be investigated and that the status quo be maintained until a decision is reached as to the extent of the fraudulent activity. The authorities refuse to do that, They believed that once Biden is inaugurated, the controversy will all go away, as it did with the Obama controversy. Then January 06, happened.

Now, the Progressives have a real problem. The portion of the population, which they assumed would lay down and allow itself to be stepped on, seems to be in mild revolt. And, they are not sure what will transpire on January 20th or after. They are panicked. They hope that removing Trump, before that date, will remove a rallying point for the growing revolt. They are also moving to eliminate means of communication, outside the control of the Establishment. They are making threats against anyone who might raise a voice against them. They are, in essence, pushing the populace into active revolt. Hopefully it will not come to that. But, the outlook is not good.