![]() ![]() ![]() 6 as Congress certifies results, said Meredith McGehee, an expert in ethics in politics and the director of Issue One. Trump could try to gin one up by encouraging protests across the nation on Jan. It's supposed to be used only in times of emergency.īut what emergency is there right now that would warrant the military taking to the streets? There is none. The Insurrection Act allows the president to call in troops for domestic law enforcement, not unlike what he did this summer in Portland, Ore., during Black Lives Matter protests. What this would do: This is slightly different from martial law in that it's an actual legal tool the president has that allows him to use the military in extreme ways. Use the Insurrection Act to somehow get control Trump has called plenty of accurate reporting "fake news" before, so it's not the same as an outright denial.Ģ. The military could just escort Trump out of the White House on that day if he refused to leave.Īfter reporting over the weekend that he was briefed on this idea by fringe advisers, Trump tweeted this, throwing cold water on the idea. 20, the political and legal and military establishment would almost certainly recognize Biden as president. And even if Congress were unable to certify results, on Jan. What is a curfew in December going to do to change an election in November? States aren't going to redo elections. Experts were heartened that military leaders expressed regret for participating in a clearing of peaceful protesters outside the White House this summer so the president could pose for a photo he used for political purposes.Īlso, declaring martial law wouldn't do anything to change votes. Trump would also need military buy-in, and military leaders have said they're not interested in entertaining any of these ideas. So that's a coup, and a coup in this country is not going to happen." "If you have martial law," Kleinfeld said, "you have total suspension of the Constitution. (The Washington Post's Gillian Brockell reports the Supreme Court has never ruled on whether a president can declare martial law without congressional approval.) Governors have that power in their states, but the president doesn't, Kleinfeld said. Some experts were skeptical the president could actually declare martial law in the first place. "Can the president invade the Congress of the United States? No, he cannot," said Adav Noti, an election law expert with the Campaign Legal Center. There's absolutely no legal or political precedent for it. 6 to certify President-elect Joe Biden's win.Ĭould it happen? No, experts say. It could even stop members of Congress from coming to work on Jan. Flynn has suggested the military could force states to rerun elections. Former Trump national security adviser Michael T. It would implement and enforce curfews, keep people in their homes. What this would do: Trump would put the military in charge. Democracies are fragile, even ours."īut even if Trump could do any of the things he might be entertaining, they wouldn't actually change the election results: Here's what he's mulling, according to Washington Post reporting, and why experts say these efforts won't get him what he wants. "You cannot normalize extrajudicial action outside the rule of law and believe democracy will hold. "This is really dangerous stuff to start playing with," said Rachel Kleinfeld, a national security expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The answer is no, he can't do this stuff, say various national security and election law experts.īut even if these maneuvers aren't in the president's tool kit, it's dangerous for him to talk about them in a way that risks normalizing them - let alone in Oval Office meetings, said nearly every expert The Fix spoke with. Could President Donald Trump declare martial law, or seize voting machines, or try to otherwise steal the election by force in his last month in office? Any of those would be an extreme escalation of Trump's already unprecedented strong-arm tactics in his effort to overturn the election results. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |