(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Being President from Prison. A (Possibly) True Story [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-09-07 Our Founding Fathers thought of a lot of things. I mean, separation of powers. Pretty good, huh? But that was just the beginning. I can personally say that if I were constructing the world’s first modern democracy, I’d likely have overlooked…for example…what to do about presidents getting emoluments from foreign kings. Years later, I might find myself bolting awake in a cold sweat…”Christ!!! I forgot the fucking emoluments!!”. But at the time, it probably would have completely slipped my mind. Yet there it is, right in article 1, section 9. Similarly, if I had written the Constitution, the Third Amendment might very well have dealt with our right to condiments or some stupid shit like that. And soldiers may very well be quartering in our homes right now, as we speak! Then where would we be? But as thorough and farsighted as our founders were, one thing that apparently never occurred to them was the possibility of a person being elected President of the United States while serving time in prison. Yes, that’s right. Prison, the big house, the hoosegow, slammer, the stoney lonesome, calaboose, Bar-a-Lago. Yet, here we are. Donald Trump has already been indicted for two separate and distinct sets of crimes (Stormy Daniels and stolen documents) with two more sets of indictments (Georgia election interference and January 6th treasony stuff) likely to come down the pike soon. There is an excellent chance that soon, the most pressing deals Trump will be negotiating involve trading cigarettes for his continued virtue. People have a hard time believing that someone can serve as president from prison. But a 1995 US Supreme Court case is instructive. In US Term Limits vs. Thornton the court struck down term limits for members of congress, saying that no law could add qualifications to be a congressperson other than those spelled out in the US Constitution. To be President the totality of the Constitutional requirements are that the president be at least 35 years old, be born in the US, being a resident for at least 14 years prior to being elected and not having already been elected to two previous terms. That’s it. The proposal that one can’t be a narcissistic, delusional sociopath was blocked at the last minute. DAMN YOU JAMES MONROE!!! Trump is the prohibitive favorite to win the Republican nomination in 2024, which gives him at least a 40% chance of being our next president. And I would put his odds of being sentenced to significant jail time for at least one of his crimes at about 70%. So a President Jailster McPokeyson is a real possibility. But what would that look like? There are obvious logistical questions. For example, does he hang out with the general prison population, or is he kept in a form of solitary confinement for his own protection. I mean, it can’t be safe for him to mingle with the various nun-eaters and baby-crushers who make up his colleagues on the inside. If you get prison cred for beating up the biggest guy in the yard, imagine the benefits of shivving the United States Commander-in-Chief in the shower. Also, if we’re going to say that nobody is above the law, and Trump will be treated the same as everybody else, how does that relate to visiting privileges? Most prisoners get to put a limited number of people on their visitors list, usually immediate family and three or four others. There are 25 members of the President’s cabinet alone. And would Trump have to meet with his Secretary of Commerce through a glass window? And what about his daily national security briefing? Will he have to fit that in between chow and going to his prison job folding blankets or scrubbing shower stalls? Then there is the question of Trump’s secret service protection. Under federal law, he must be protected at all times. Does this mean that secret service officers are stationed outside of his cell, or even inside it? And what will their role be when Trump tries to steal other prisoners’ candy bars, because we all know that he will. Do they just tase any inmate who tries to get his stuff back? How about summit meetings with foreign leaders? Is the King of England, the Prime Minister of Senegal or the Dear Leader and Exalted Plenepotentate for Life of North Korea going to be expected to travel to Sing Sing in order to negotiate grain treaties with Inmate 14-S-2308? These are only dozens of unanswerable and comically preposterous questions that an imprisoned head of government would present. I guess the point (I’m told I should have one) is that this whole situation is preposterous. We are on a clear collision course between treating Trump just like every other criminal, and running a country that operates reasonably and is not considered a joke around the globe. It would be nice if Trump would, for the first time in his inexplicable life, think of his country and spare us this insanity. But that’s just not going to happen. So it’s going to up to the American people to do it for us. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/7/2191957/-Being-President-from-Prison-A-Possibly-True-Story Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/