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which if true would mean an unconstitutional use of his powers as VP
Could he do that in his capacity as President of the Senate to defend the Capitol? It may be in his power?
Sifta-
Could he do that in his capacity as President of the Senate to defend the Capitol? It may be in his power?
I’ve been mulling this over and it’s a proper mess of events.
Pence has no authority to deploy or authorise deployment of the National Guard, afaik; only the President and the state governor can deploy the guard.
However, the Virginia state Natl Guard has been deployed to the Capitol, at the request of the DC mayor, presumably in consultation with Pence or with Pelosi. This legally is fine.
However, the NY Times is tweeting that Pence authorised deployment of the DC national guard, which is separate from Virginia’s. This is, afaik, illegal.
I believe the legal term for this scenario is ‘clusterfuck’.
Adhiero
Picking up chatter that it was Pence who requested the Virginia Natl Guard to be deployed; which if true would mean an unconstitutional use of his powers as VP. There’s a real possibility that Pence + cabinet might invoke 25th Amm. to remove trump, and it’s nearly certain articles of impeachment will be drafted, but trump could seize on Pences actions to claim he’s the victim of an attempted coup.