Just curious: What are the actual steps/procedures for removing an impeached President from office?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

I don't mean the procedures during the Senate trial on removal after the President is impeached.

I mean what happens if the Senate votes to "convict" on the impeachment charges, thus warranting the President's removal from office?

Is the Vice President immediately sworn in on the spot? Or is there some sort of period between the vote and the time the Vice President is sworn in?

And what if the impeached/removed President doesn't want to leave the White House?

We've never actually gotten to that point so I'm curious how such a situation would actually play out.

[jberryhill]

1. .

[sarisataka]

4. Old school

[Shell_Seas]

2. Does it matter?

He won't be impeached. The coup is complete. They will appoint a new FBI head, the investigation will go away. The Republicans won't do anything. And I'm betting Trump will collude with Russia to hack the 2018 elections, so dems lose again, too. We are all doomed.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

3. Jeez.

Not that I'm naïve or unduly optimistic or realize the potential disasterous implications of what's going on, but way to be a complete Debbie Downer there, bud.

[CountAllVotes]

5. +1,000

n/t

[Shell_Seas]

6. Depressing, huh?

Ya, me too.

[nolabear]

22. Nope.

[lpbk2713]

7. Polonium?

That's how his buddies would do it.

[gratuitous]

8. I believe the procedure is . . .

Upon conviction by the Senate, the President (or other high public official) is immediately out of office. In the case of the President, the Vice President immediately becomes the President. There may be a swearing in ceremony later, but that would just be for show. As soon as the President is convicted by the Senate, the office is vacated, and the Vice President automatically becomes the President.

If the convict refuses to leave the White House, he doesn't have a legal leg to stand on. I imagine the Secret Service or the U.S. Marshals would bodily remove him from the premises.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

9. I have a mental image of two burly agents hauling a kicking and screaming Trump out the WH door.

Preferably he's wearing a white-tank top, Cops style, to boot.

That image would be provide a lot of humor and laughs as we have to wait out the rest of President Pence's term.

[gratuitous]

10. As to a President Pence

I have a strategy for dealing with that should it come to pass. Code name is "Next man up." Guess how it works.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

13. I would just plan on calling him "Ex Vice President Pence."

Never let anyone forget who chose him to be Vice President. Hammer him hard from the minute he enters until he leaves in January 2021.

He'll be a forever tainted President.

[OriginalGeek]

16. wouldn;t it be more fun

if they dragged him kicking and screaming out of Mar a Lago?

And then the feds seize it in an asset forfeiture for criminal activity conducted there?

It'd make me laugh.

[onenote]

14. The swearing in is not just "for show".

While the VP would immediately become president upon the death, resignation, or removal of the president, he must take the oath of office before "enter[ing] on the execution of his office" (US Constitution, Article II, Section 1)

[jberryhill]

19. The constitution does not prescribe any particular method

He can sign a statement to that effect if he wants to, provided it is sworn. It doesn't need to be made "to" anyone in particular.

[onenote]

20. I'm not sure about that.

The provision reads as follows:

"Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:--'I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.'"

Generally speaking, an oath or affirmation must be administered by a public official. For all oaths required of federal officials other the president, federal law specifies who is authorized to administer the oath. The silence of the constitution and the US code with respect to how the oath of the president is given/taken could be read as meaning that anything goes. But in practice, everyone who has served as president has taken the oath before a public official. In most instances, it has been the Chief Justice or and associate justice of the Supreme Court, but there have been a few instances where the oath was given before a lower federal court or state court judge and one instance (Calvin Coolidge) where the oath was give before a Justice of the Peace/notary public.

I doubt the issue will ever come up.

[jberryhill]

21. Yeah, or a boat captain

I'm pretty sure a captain on the Staten Island Ferry could take the oath.

This whole scene had to be intentionally arranged in order to satisfy the perceived public need for "proper ritual":



They had to drag that poor lady from her seat to satisfy a sense of legitimacy in ritual.

"Oh, hey, sorry your husband's head just exploded in your face, but we need a good picture for the American public to 'legitimize' the guy who is replacing him. So, get off your ass and into the picture."

But, of course, you can easily recall how Obama "wasn't really president" because Roberts flubbed the oath. So they had to make stupid photos of him doing it "again the right way" just to get pinheads to calm down. Then, of course, the "real" story was that he can only swear on a Quran, so that's why they intentionally flubbed the oath. Or, my favorite, is that it was a clever plot by Roberts so that Obama could be somehow declared "not really president" at some convenient future point in time.

People get nuts over ritual.

[DaleFromWPB]

11. After the HoR votes to impeach ...

The Senate takes up the matter. They call call witnesses and compel testimony.
After deliberating they each cast a vote, it takes a 2/3 majority to convict.

Once convicted the official is immediately removed from office. Once he is removed the VP is sworn in and the secret Service and Capitol Police would remove him/her by force if necessary.

There are no penalties or jail time attached ... just the removal from the position.

From a practical viewpoint there is no reason to go forward unless there is a chance of getting 66% to vote for removal.

From a realistic viewpoint it's worth the effect to force people to have to go on record and vote not to convict. That what the GOP did with Pres. Clinton, they were more interested in the spectacle than the outcome.

It only takes a majority in the House to vote to impeach and force the Senate's hand.

If we can mange to stop losing winnable elections - we might take back the House in 2018.

[Vinca]

12. Maybe we could find a giant Havahart trap and bait it with money. That would get him out.

[SeattleVet]

15. The same way he fired Comey?

Wait until he's out of town (at Merde a Loco) and then send a handwritten note to the White House staff, telling them that he is no longer their boss, and then change all the locks?

[Hugin]

17. All that is really needed is a single tweet.

The irony would be oh, so, delicious.

[RainCaster]

18. It begins with the GOP growing a backbone

Until the GOP decides that they value ethics, anything we say will not matter.

[MyNameGoesHere]

23. Impeachment doesn't work

And it's all laid out in the constitution.

The other way works but people aren't mad enough yet. When it is time for the alternate removal from office I'll fill you in.