What the Constitution REQUIRES Congress to do on January 6, 2021
By Publius Huldah
1. The Rule of Law is being erased in our Land
Several years ago, I saw a movie on TV. The setting was Berlin, Germany just after WWII at the time the Soviets were laying rolls of barbed wire on the ground to mark the border between East and West Berlin. The main characters were a young American woman and a young German man. He had gotten a law degree while Hitler was taking over Germany; but he never practiced law. She asked him why and he said, “The Law disappeared”.
And that’s what’s going on in our Country: The Law – as the standard which those in government must obey – has disappeared and is being replaced by the age-old system where those with the power do what they want, and the cowards go along with it.
Just as the cowards in Germany went along with Hitler; cowards in America are going along with the Left’s brazen theft of the recent election. Countries are destroyed by such cowards; and that may be the reason Revelation 21:8 lists cowards as the first to be thrown into the Lake of Fire: Tyrants couldn’t get to first base without the acquiescence of cowards.
So this paper calls upon each Member of Congress to rise up and restore the Rule of Law to our Land.1 Knowledge of Truth – and the Love of Truth – make us strong. So learn the Truth, embrace it, and restore the Rule of Law.
2. We must read each Part of the Constitution in the Light cast by the other Parts
It is impossible to understand any Part of the Constitution without understanding how that Part fits into the Whole; and how each individual Part is affected by the other Parts addressing the same subject. Accordingly, it is an ancient rule of construction that constitutional provisions or statutes that are on the same subject (in pari materia) must be construed together [link].
So it is a serious misconstruction of the 12th Amendment to assert that Congress’s role on January 6 is the passive one of merely counting numbers; or that the Presiding Officer has discretion to do whatever he wants.
As shown below, specific provisions of the Constitution impose on Congress the Duty to determine whether the Electors were lawfully chosen; and whether the putative President elect and Vice-President elect are qualified for office.
3. When it meets on January 6, Congress must enforce these Constitutional provisions respecting the Appointment of Electors
Article I, §4, clause 1; Article II, §1, clause 2; and Article II, §1, clause 4
Art. I, §4, cl. 1 says that only state and federal legislatures have the power to make laws addressing the Times, Places and Manner of conducting federal elections. So Judges and State executive officials have no lawful authority to change the election laws made by the Legislatures!
Art. II, §1, cl. 2 says that the Electors for President and Vice-President are to be appointed in such manner as the State Legislatures shall direct. So Judges and State executive officials have no lawful authority to change the election laws respecting how the Electors are to be chosen!
So Electors who were appointed in violation of these two provisions were unlawfully appointed and hence are not legally competent to cast votes for President and Vice President.
Art. II, §1, cl. 4 provides that Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors. At 3 USC §1, Congress set the time for chusing Electors for November 3.
So Electors who were appointed after November 3 by means of late ballots (which was made possible by unconstitutional changes to state election laws which unlawfully extended the deadlines for receiving ballots past Nov. 3) were unlawfully appointed and hence are not legally competent to cast votes for President and Vice President. 2
4. Congress must also enforce these Constitutional provisions respecting the qualifications for the Offices of President and Vice-President
Article II, §1, clause 5
Art. II, §1, cl. 5 sets forth qualifications for the Office of President. After our first generation of Presidents [who were all born as subjects of the King of England] had passed away; the qualifications for President are that he must be a “natural born citizen”, at least 35 years of age, and have been for at least 14 Years a Resident within the United States.
The last sentence of the 12th Amendment shows that no person who is ineligible to be President is eligible to be Vice-President. 3
The 22nd Amendment
The 22nd Amendment imposes term limits on the office of President. So any person who has already served two terms is constitutionally ineligible to be President.
The 20th Amendment, §3
§3 of the 20th Amendment addresses what happens when the President elect and/or Vice-President elect “fail to qualify”. So §3 underlines Art. II, §1, cl. 5; the last sentence of the 12th Amendment; and the 22nd Amendment: If the President elect or the Vice-President elect “fail to qualify”, they are to be passed over.
So! The Constitutional scheme is that the Electors’ choice is subject to Congress’ determinations of:
♦whether the requirements of Art. I, §4, cl. 1; Art. II, §1, cl.2; and Art. II, §1, cl. 4 were obeyed when the Electors were selected; and
♦whether the persons whom the Electors chose meet the requirements of Art. II, §1, cl. 5; the last sentence of the 12th Amendment, and the term limits provision of the 22nd Amendment.
If not, Congress must disqualify the persons.
5. Congress is also bound by these Constitutional provisions
The Guaranty clause at Article IV, §4
Art. IV, § 4 says:
“The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government…” [emphasis added]
Since the essence of a “Republic” is that power is exercised by Representatives elected by The People; 4 the violations of Art. I, §4, cl. 1; Art. II, §1, cl. 2; and Art. II, §1, cl.4 (which made massive election fraud possible) strike at the heart of our Constitutional Republic.
When Electors are selected in violation of our Constitution by means of last minutes changes unlawfully made to state election laws; and/or an election is stolen by means of fraud, the Right of The People to choose their Representatives is taken away from them – and the Republic is destroyed.
Art. IV, §4 imposes on Congress the Duty to guarantee lawful and honest federal elections. Congress can do this by enforcing Art. I, §4, cl. 1; Art. II, §1, cl.2; and Art. II, §1, cl. 4 by disqualifying the Electors chosen in contravention of those provisions.
Congress may (and should) also disqualify Biden and Harris on the additional ground that their pretended election was procured by cheating. They must be stripped of their sham “win”. 5
The Supremacy clause at Article VI, cl. 2
Art. VI, cl. 2 says:
“This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof…shall be the supreme Law of the Land…” [italics added]
Only those Acts of Congress which are consistent with the Constitution are part of the supreme Law of the Land. 6
Accordingly, Sections 5 and 15 of the Electoral Count Act (3 USC §§1-21), are unconstitutional to the extent they purport to:
♦require Congress to accept slates of Electors who were appointed in violation of Art. I, §4, cl.1; Art. II, §1, cl. 2; and Art. II, §1, cl. 4;
♦require Congress, in the case of dueling slates of Electors, to choose the slate signed by the Governor of the State and reject the slate approved by the State Legislature; 7 and
♦eliminate the 12th Amendment’s dispute resolution procedures under which the House of Representatives chooses the President; and the Senate chooses the Vice-President. 8
But, contrary to what some have asserted, the 12th Amendment most manifestly does NOT vest exclusive authority and sole discretion in the President of the Senate (Vice-President Mike Pence) to determine which slates of Electors for a State are to be counted and which slates are to be rejected!
As President of the Senate, the Vice-President has certain Parliamentary powers at his disposal; but he has no “discretion” in deciding whether he will adhere to the Constitutional framework governing the Election. He – and every other Member of Congress – must adhere to and enforce each Constitutional provision.
The Oath of Office at Article VI, cl. 3
Every Member of Congress is bound by Oath or Affirmation to support our Constitution. On January 6, you must lay aside all personal considerations. Do your DUTY as set forth in the Constitution. And remember: This isn’t about Trump – this is about whether our Republic is to survive. If you permit violations of the Constitution and the resulting fraud to prevail; you will destroy our Republic.
6. Our Constitution sets up an elegant system of checks and balances
One of the benefits of the “separation of powers” Principle is that it provides a mechanism for one power to correct violations made by another power. Within the federal and State governments, powers are divided into three Branches: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. Each Branch has the duty to “check” the violations of the other Branches.
Likewise, the power of the State governments is separated from the power of the federal government. When people within State governments violate the Constitution – as was done in the recent election – it is the Duty of the federal government to “check” the violation. Since Electors were chosen in violation of the Constitution; Congress has the Duty to check the violations and reject those Electors.
Endnotes:
1 The term, “rule of law”, is defined here at Point 7.
2 The same Principle applies to Electors who were chosen before Nov. 3 pursuant to [unconstitutional] state election laws which permit early voting for selection of Electors.
3 It appears that at the time Kamala Harris was born, her parents were not US Citizens. If so, she is constitutionally ineligible to be President or Vice-President [link]. Congress has the Duty to inquire into this matter; and if they find that she is not a “natural born citizen” within the original intent of Art. II, §1, cl. 5, it is Congress’ Duty to disqualify her. Congress is the body which is charged with determining the eligibility of the President and Vice-President [link].
4 Federalist No. 10 (J. Madison): “A republic, by which I mean a government in which the scheme of representation takes place, … *** … The two great points of difference between a democracy and a republic are: first, the delegation of the government, in the latter, to a small number of citizens elected by the rest; …”
5 If you win a medal at the Olympics; and it’s later discovered that you cheated by taking performance-enhancing drugs, you will be stripped of “win” and medal – and both will be awarded to your runner-up. The same Principle applies to stolen elections.
6 Federalist No. 78, 10th para (A. Hamilton): “…every act of a delegated authority, contrary to the tenor of the commission under which it is exercised, is void. No legislative act, therefore, contrary to the Constitution, can be valid. To deny this, would be to affirm, that the deputy is greater than his principal; that the servant is above his master; that the representatives of the people are superior to the people themselves; ….” [emphasis mine]
7 Art. II, §1, cl. 2 provides that the State Legislatures have the power to direct how the Electors are to be appointed! The State Governor has no constitutional power whatsoever in the selection of Presidential Electors!
8 To the same effect, see the Complaint recently filed by US Representative Louie Gohmert [link].
A Constitutional Roadmap for Conquering Election Fraud
By Publius Huldah
The following shows what the State Legislatures and each Branch of the federal government have the authority to do to address the monstrous crime which has been committed against our Country.
1. Article IV, §4, US Constitution
The fundamental Principle which should guide us in dealing with this issue is set forth at Article IV, §4, US Constitution. It reads,
“The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government…”
The essence of a “Republic” is that sovereign power is exercised by Representatives elected, directly or indirectly, by The People. 1
Election fraud strikes at the heart of our Constitutional Republic. Therefore, Congress, the federal courts and the Executive Branch [i.e., the “United States”] have the duty, imposed by Article IV, §4, to negate the fraud in order to preserve our republican form of government.
As shown below, the States also have authority to remedy the election fraud committed in their State.
2. The Constitutional framework governing federal elections
These are the clauses in the US Constitution everyone should study:
♦ Art. I, §4 is the “times, places, and manner” clause: It means what it says! Federal and State judges, and federal and State executive agencies, have no authority to tinker with election laws made by the State Legislatures or Congress. When they tinker with the laws, their acts are usurpations and must be treated as such [link].
♦ Art. II, §1, clause 2: The President & Vice President are to be elected by Electors appointed, in such manner as the State Legislatures shall direct…
♦ Art. II, §1, clause 4: Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors and the Day on which they Vote.
♦ The 12th Amendment sets forth the procedures for how the Electors are to cast their votes for President & then for Vice President. To our detriment, we have ignored those procedures for a long time.
♦ The 20th Amendment, §1, says the terms of President & Vice President end January 20; and the terms of Senators & Representatives end January 3.
♦ And §2 of the 20th Amendment says Congress shall meet on January 3, unless they make a law setting a different date. Congress did make a law which changed that date to January 6.
3. The Statutory framework
At Title 3, US Code, §§ 1-21 [link], Congress implemented the constitutional provisions.
Congress understood there would be fights in the States over the selection of the Electors. So they provided for the fights:
A.
At 3 USC §1, Congress set November 3 as the date for appointing the Electors in the States.
But the next two Sections address what happens when Electors aren’t appointed on November 3.
♦ §2 says the Electors may be appointed on a subsequent day in such a manner as the Legislature of each State may direct.
♦ And §3 says Electors are chosen when any controversy respecting their appointment has been finally determined. “Determining the controversy” is, of course, the purpose of the litigation and the hearings in State Legislatures.
B.
Article II, §1, clause 4, US Constit., gives Congress authority to determine the Date on which the electors vote:
♦ 3 USC §7 sets that date for December 14.
♦ But 3 USC §§12 & 13 provide for what happens when Congress hasn’t received the Electors’ votes by December 23.
So we see that flexibility to deal with fights in the States over the selection of Electors is built into the US Code.
C.
Now we get to the counting of the Electors’ Votes in Congress: 3 USC §15 says Congress is to meet on January 6 to count the votes. The President of the Senate [Mike Pence] presides. He is to call for objections to the votes. The rest of §15 and §§16-18 deal with handling the objections in Congress respecting the Electors’ votes.
So the statutory framework recognizes that selecting the Presidential Electors can get messy; and that there would be fights over the Electors in the States and in Congress. We are working through this process right now.
4. Congress has the power to determine whether the President elect and Vice President elect are qualified for office.
Section 3 of the 20th Amendment shows that Congress has the authority to determine whether the President elect and Vice President elect are qualified for office. 2 If either is not a natural born citizen, Congress has the power and the duty to disqualify that person. 3 Accordingly, it was Congress’ duty to inquire into whether Obama was a natural born citizen; and today it is Congress’ duty to inquire into whether Kamala Harris is a natural born citizen.
Congress also has the power – and the duty – to disqualify Biden and Harris on the ground that the fraud bringing about their sham “election” was an attack on the States’ Right, guaranteed by Article IV, §4, to have a republican form of government.
5. Election Fraud is a federal crime
It is the DUTY of the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute the election fraud. It is disgraceful that they have done nothing.
6. The Duty of the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is surely aware of its Duty, imposed by Article IV, §4, US Constitution, to guarantee to the States a republican form of government where Representatives are elected by The People – and not by corrupt politicians who pay for massive organized election fraud and cheating.
While the Supreme Court obviously cannot enforce its own rulings and must depend on the Executive Branch of the federal government to enforce them; 4 the Supreme Court must issue an Opinion consistent with Article IV, §4, which, when enforced by the Executive Branch of the federal government, solves the present crisis.
7. The State Legislatures should appoint replacement Electors
It is clear that State Legislatures have the power to ignore the fraudulent election and appoint a new set of Presidential Electors. Such is consistent with the Constitution and the statutory scheme laid out in 3 USC §§1-21. Furthermore, the Supreme Court has already acknowledged that State Legislatures may do this.
REMEMBER that Article II, §1, clause 2, US Constitution, says Electors are to be appointed “in such Manner as the State Legislatures” may direct.
Originally, Electors were generally chosen by the State Legislatures. In McPherson v. Blacker, decided 1892 [link], the Supreme Court gave the history of how each State Legislature chose their Electors since the first presidential election. It was only later that State Legislatures began to provide for the popular election of the Presidential Electors.
Congress expressly recognizes that State Legislatures may resume at any time the power to select the Electors. Remember that 3 USC §2, says,
“Whenever any State has held an election for the purpose of choosing electors, and has failed to make a choice on the day prescribed by law, the electors may be appointed on a subsequent day in such a manner as the legislature of such State may direct.”
Additionally, in Bush v. Gore, decided 2000 [link], the Supreme Court said that the State Legislature’s power to select the manner for appointing electors is plenary; it may, if it chooses, select the Electors itself; and even after granting the franchise to the People to select the Electors, State Legislatures can resume the power at any time.
So yes, in States where the election was stolen, the State Legislatures may – and should – reassume their plenary power to select the Electors. America urges the State Legislators to be bold and do what is right.
8. Warning
Republican establishment cowards who refuse to confront and defeat the election fraud don’t seem to understand the consequences of their refusal to man up and fight the fraud. Our Country is right now in the process of being overthrown and taken over by profoundly evil people. You better fight while we still can.
Endnotes:
1 Federalist No. 10 (J. Madison) [link]: “A republic, by which I mean a government in which the scheme of representation takes place, … *** … The two great points of difference between a democracy and a republic are: first, the delegation of the government, in the latter, to a small number of citizens elected by the rest; …”
2 The qualifications are set forth at Article II, §1, clause 5 and the 12th Amendment, last sentence.
3 Whether or not a President elect or Vice President elect meet the constitutional qualifications for office is a political question for Congress to decide.
4 Federalist No. 78 (A. Hamilton) [link] “…The Executive not only dispenses the honors, but holds the sword of the community. The legislature not only commands the purse, but prescribes the rules by which the duties and rights of every citizen are to be regulated. The judiciary, on the contrary, has no influence over either the sword or the purse; no direction either of the strength or of the wealth of the society; and can take no active resolution whatever. It may truly be said to have neither FORCE nor WILL, but merely judgment; and must ultimately depend upon the aid of the executive arm even for the efficacy of its judgments.” [Caps are Hamilton’s; other emphasis added]
WHAT HAPPENS IF HILLARY DIES BEFORE THE ELECTION? WHAT HAPPENS IF SHE IS ELECTED, BUT DIES BEFORE TAKING OFFICE?
By Publius Huldah
The system we now use to elect presidents and vice presidents is unconstitutional. Our Constitution doesn’t permit political parties to hold primaries & national conventions to select nominees for their party.
Instead, the Electors of each State are to meet within their own State and THEY cast the votes for their State for president; and then in a second ballot, THEY cast the votes for their State for vice president. Then each group of Electors sends their list of persons voted for to the President of the Senate who, on a specified date, counts the votes.
The 12th Amendment specifies the procedures we are supposed to follow.
I have two papers on this: The most recent is here: https://publiushuldah.wordpress.com/…/trashing-the-12th-am…/
The earlier article I wrote on this topic illustrates with examples, precisely how the voting for president and vice president is to be done: https://publiushuldah.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/national-popular-vote-goodbye-sweet-america/ and look under the subheading, The 12th Amendment Establishes Procedures For Voting By Electors.
So the Constitution doesn’t address what happens if Hillary dies before the election, because under the Constitution, her nomination [like Trump’s] is unconstitutional.
We abandoned the Rule of Law long ago.
We are now under the Rule of Man. So the Democrat party will do whatever they want to do about replacing her if she dies before the election.
Section 3 of the XX Amendment addresses what happens if Hillary is elected but dies before she takes office: Tim Kaine will be President.
Who Makes the Ruling that Someone is not Qualified for the Office of President of the United States?
By Publius Huldah
According to the original intent of our Constitution, Ted Cruz & Marco Rubio are not eligible to be President because their fathers weren’t US citizens at the times they were born. So they are not “natural born citizens”.
So! How is this handled? Who calls it? Who makes the ruling? Do we “file a lawsuit” and let federal judges decide? “Slap your hands!”, our Framers would say. They would say, “READ THE CONSTITUTION AND SEE WHAT IS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!”
[Our lives would be so much simpler – and our Country so much better off – if we read & supported our Constitution.]
Read the 12th Amendment. That sets forth the procedures for election of President and VP. Note that ELECTORS are supposed to be the ones making the selection – not The People. [There is a reason for that.] For an illustration of how this works, go HERE and read the subheadings, “Electors” Appointed by States Were To Choose The President! and The 12th Amendment Establishes Procedures For Voting By Electors.
So! Assume we followed the Constitution on this issue and we get to the part where Congress is counting the votes as provided by 12th Amendment. And Lo! Congress discovers that the person who got the most votes for President is NOT QUALIFIED by reason of age, or not being a natural born citizen, or not having been for at least 14 years a Resident within the United States.
Obviously, it’s Congress’ job to make the ruling – to make the call – on whether the President and VP – selected by the ELECTORS – are qualified under Art. II, Sec. 1, clause 5.
So what happens if Congress finds that the person with the most votes for President is not qualified? We look to Sec. 3 of the 20th Amendment. It tells us what happens. If the President elect has failed to qualify, then the VP elect shall act as President… Now, read the rest of that Section. We would also need to see whether Congress has made any of the authorized laws providing for such contingencies.
So, under the Constitution as written, it is Congress’ job to make the call as to whether the President elect and the VP elect are qualified.
This is NOT an issue for the federal courts to decide. That is because this is a “political question” – not a “legal question”. The power to make the ruling as to whether the president elect or the VP elect are qualified has been delegated to CONGRESS. Traditionally, federal courts have “abstained” from deciding “political questions”.
We study this in our first year constitutional law class, when we study judicial “abstention” from certain kinds of cases including cases which involve “political questions” or the exercise of powers delegated to the Legislative or Executive branches. When a power is delegated to one of the “political branches” (Legislative or Executive), the federal courts (the “legal branch”) have traditionally declined to interfere and substitute their judgment for that of the “political branch” to which the Power was delegated.
And what if Congress gives an ineligible person a pass – as they did with obama? WELL THEN, SHAME ON US – BECAUSE WE ARE THE ONES WHO ELECTED THOSE IGNORANT COWARDS TO OFFICE!