General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: How A President Leaves Office - The Only Possibilities [View all]Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)Suppose a candidate wins election despite rumors that she wasn't actually a natural-born citizen. (I make the new President a woman to make it clear I'm not talking about Obama.) After she's inaugurated, conclusive evidence of document fraud comes to light. The President must finally admit the truth. She goes on TV and defiantly proclaims that, although she lied repeatedly and directed the forging of documents, the natural-born citizenship requirement is archaic and should be ignored. She points out, correctly, that her parents brought her to the U.S. when she was a month old and she's lived here ever since, so what the hell difference does it make.
A highly partisan Senate has enough of her diehard adherents to block conviction in an impeachment proceeding.
The "birther" lawsuits against Obama largely failed for lack of standing. Suppose, however, that a suit is brought by the candidate who came in second, plus several Senators and Representatives who allege that they were deceived into approving the electoral votes for the liar, plus most of her own electors, plus even the Vice President who alleges that he's being denied his rightful place in the Oval Office. That group collectively ought to have standing to bring a case asking a federal court to remove the ineligible President from office. What result?
My guess is that the court agrees they have standing but dismisses the case under the Political Question Doctrine. The court would probably agree with your point that the only path to removing her is through the Constitution. Still, there's at least a colorable argument that impeachment and the 25th Amendment are to deal with someone who properly became President, and this person was never actually a valid President in the first place.