Questions tagged [president]
For questions regarding heads of state with the title "President." Should be used with a jurisdiction tag to indicate which country the question is about.
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Can a US President, after impeachment and removal, be re-elected or re-appointed?
This answer in its present form states
If Donald Trump were impeached and blocked from running again (which is one of the things that impeachment can do, disqualify from office)...
Is that true?
...
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Can the President of the United States pardon proactively?
President Trump's administration has just formally started the transition process. He is now officially a lame-duck President. It is common for outgoing Presidents to grant pardons in this last phase ...
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If the President's power to grant pardons is absolute, could he face any consequences?
Does the Presidential power to pardon include the power to avoid any consequences?
Consider this hypothetical situation:
An extremely rich individual (a US citizen) gets involved in a sordid love ...
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How can the US president give an order to a civilian?
I remember reading that the US president can give an order to a civilian via some special letter. (The example given involved an IT company employee ordered to install a back-door in the company's ...
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Were people born in the Confederacy eligible to run for president?
Since the Confederacy existed for about four years, presumably some number of babies were born there during that time. Technically, those people were not born in the United States.
When those people ...
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Do US presidential pardons include the cancellation of financial punishments?
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/20/anthony-levandowski-pardoned-after-stealing-trade-secrets-from-google.html says:
Anthony Levandowski pardoned after stealing trade secrets from Google
In August, ...
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Can a former United States president be criminally prosecuted for acts committed when he was president?
Just after voting to acquit Trump, GOP senate leader Mitch McConnel said:
We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation. And former presidents are not immune from being ...
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Would a Trump-nominated Supreme Court justice be expected to recuse themselves from a Trump case?
As of Oct 21, 2022, the January 6 Committee has issued a subpoena to former president Trump, setting up the potential for a case against Trump to end up in front of the Supreme Court. I spent awhile ...
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How are presidential pardons supposed to be used?
When and how are pardons supposed to be used? Why does the Constitution even grant the president the power to pardon? Can it be used to pardon any crime?
On the surface, it seems to make the ...
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What can happen if the US President has violated campaign finance laws?
There has been recent news about President Donald Trump possibly breaking campaign finance laws due to a repayment made to one of his lawyers.
NPR: Trump Admits To Authorizing Stormy Daniels Payoff, ...
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What happens if Congress declares war, but POTUS refuses to fight it?
By Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the US Constitution, the power to declare war is with the Congress.
Today (03/20/17), during a committee hearing, Ms. Speier, accused Russia (I assume she meant ...
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Can the Secret Service arrest someone who uses an illegal drug inside of the White House?
In light of the recent discovery of cocaine inside the West Wing of the White House, I am wondering if a person who either lives in, or works in, or makes a visit to the White House, is caught using ...
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Can a U.S. President's doctor refuse to answer medical-related questions asked by a Congressional committee?
Say that in the event that the 25th Amendment was to be invoked due to the suspicion that the U.S. President was no longer physically and/or mentally capable of performing his/her Presidential duties, ...
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When is a person legally considered to be "President-elect" in regards to laws against threatening the President?
There have been news stories about individuals threatening to kill President-elect Donald Trump shortly after the election, such as this man who did it over Twitter. According to the news article, he ...
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Can I legally deny the President of the United States entry into my home?
If the President were to show up at my home and demand entry for some reason (unlikely as that would be), do I have the right to refuse?
I am aware that it would be a felony to make direct threats ...
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Is there a gap in the office of Speaker of the House?
In the current Congressional elections, the control of the House of Representatives is changing from one party to another, and the current Speaker did not run for re-election.
In this situation, is ...
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Could Trump be charged with a criminal offense for his actions related to the COVID-19 pandemic?
Recently Carl Bernstein called Donald Trump a "homicidal President":
We are witnessing a homicidal president convening ― purposefully ― a homicidal assembly to help him get re-elected as ...
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Can the USA military be used as a police force domestically?
A discussion on a sister Stack Exchange site led me to ask this question.
Under what conditions can a branch of the military (excluding the Coast Guard for technical reasons) be used in an active ...
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Can the President of the US pardon everyone?
Can the President of the United States pardon everyone? For example, let's say a criminal organisation is committing crimes, after awhile they get raided by the police, everyone gets arrested and ...
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What if someone serving time in a state prison gets elected president?
What if someone serving time in a state prison gets elected president?
Would it be legal for the state to continue to incarcerate a US president?
Can he order himself to be released (for example, on ...
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What ever happened to the Nixon Pocket veto case?
What ever happened to the Nixon Pocket veto case? This is the case where members of congress sued over President Nixon's recess veto of a spending bill.
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Can the US president be charged of crime such as murder while in office?
If the US president commits murder during his vacation as an unofficial action during his presidential term, can he be charged with a crime in court (i.e., in the judiciary branch) before he steps ...
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Can the President unilaterally change the design of the US flag?
In researching this question, I found this page from the Government Publishing Office, which states in 4 U.S.C. §10:
Any rule or custom pertaining to the display of the flag of the United States of ...
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"Designated Survivor" scenario: What if a President is sworn in and someone earlier in succession resurfaces?
If something like what's depicted in "Designated Survivor" (TV-show) happened – POTUS, VPOTUS, Speaker, &c, were all (believed to be) dead – and the "designated survivor" had become acting ...
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Can a President of the United States be arrested for previous crimes?
Recently, the FBI decided not to recommend prosecution of Hillary Clinton, and as of 12:00 noon EST Clinton is projected to have lost her bid for POTUS. However - if the FBI had recommended ...
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Could the 14th amendment, section 3, keep Trump from holding office for a second term?
It seems widely agreed upon that even if a President breaks a law, he can only be removed from office through the impeachment process.
However, could an incumbent president who wins a second term be ...
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Was it formerly illegal for a woman to be president of the United States?
Was there some statute or other law a century ago that said only males could serve as president? If so, when did that change (if in fact it did)?
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USA - Grounds for Treason / Arrests to Prevent a Coup
The base question is what grounds must a president have to initiate arrests on the basis of treason. What evidence must be had, if any. In the event of a suspected Coup, what acts may the president ...
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Can the US Senate disqualify a former President?
In summary, the answer to "Can a US President, after impeachment and removal, be re-elected or re-appointed?" was "Yes, unless the Senate votes by simple majority to add the penalty of ...
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Does the President of the USA execute prosecutorial discretion?
Is it legal for the President of the USA to direct an official of the DOJ (say, the Director of the FBI) to drop an investigation, as an exercise of prosecutorial discretion?
This is the case being ...
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POTUS term limit (hypothetical)
It is frequently said that the current term limit for a US President is 10 years, consisting of inheriting the presidency for a 2 year caretaker term, then elected twice for 8 years, not necessarily ...
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Transfer of US Presidential power when both the President and the Vice President are incapacitated
According to Article II, section 1, clause 6 of the US Constitution, in the case of death, removal, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers of the office, both of the President and the Vice ...
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What happens if Congress blocks funding for a President's military order?
There is talk of Congress passing legislation to block funding for a military strike on North Korea.
My question is, what happens if the president orders an attack assuming it is within his authority?...
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Can Clinton be pardoned without being charged or convicted?
Is it possible for someone to be pardoned if they haven't been convicted or even charged with a crime?
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Does Trump's pardon of the Blackwater mercenaries violate international law?
President Trump recently pardoned Nicholas Slatten, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard, four Blackwater mercenaries convicted in 2014 of killing civilians in Iraq back in 2007.
The United ...
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Annexation and becoming US president
Imagine I was born in country X at xxxx.
At xxxx+20 years country X is annexed to the United States. (Freely or forcefully)
At xxxx+40 years I am elected to be the next president of the United States.
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Can Biden force the presidential transition to start?
A number of news sources have reported that Emily Murphy of the General Services Administration has failed to sign the document that triggers the presidential transition process.
Can the Biden team ...
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Is the Acting Attorney General in the Presidential Line of Succession?
The Attorney-General is seventh in the line of succession to the Presidency of the United States.
Does an Acting Attorney-General replace the former Attorney-General in the line of succession?
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Why did Jim Garrison investigate the Kennedy assassination?
Mr Garrison was the district attorney (DA) for the state of New Orleans and the assassination of President Kennedy happened in Dallas, Texas.
Why would a New Orleans DA be interested in this? Isn't ...
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Who becomes President if no candidate for President or for Vice-President has been selected at noon, January 20th?
The Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution , Article 3, deals with the situation where no President or Vice President has qualified on January 20.
Section 3
If, at the time fixed for the beginning ...
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Legal to become president if U.S. adds new state/territories?
If the U.S. adds a new territory, are the people currently living there able to become president? Or does the territory have to become a state in order for the people to be eligible to become ...
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Could Trump "trash" the White House?
Assume Trump willingly leaves the White House on January 20th, but acts like a bad tenant being evicted, and decides to destroy existing paintings, busts, etc. Would he be legally allowed to do this ...
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Sworn statement from Chief of Staff on President's intent:isn't that hearsay?
Trump made two tweets (here and here) which (on a surface reading) would seem to be him ordering the complete declassification of all documents related to the Russian investigation. In response, ...
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Can people get in trouble for investigating or charging the president?
Not word for word and please correct me.
Is there a law like this? If so:
Should any criminal investigation or legal action, investigation even a phone call that takes time from the president in ...
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Does impeachment conviction necessarily imply removal from office?
The relevant bits of Article 1 Section 3 state that:
Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of ...
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Which powers can the President delegate to other officers or employees of the Executive Branch?
The President is the head of the Executive Branch of the United States Government. As the head of the branch a lot of things are formally done by the President, but in actuality many tasks are ...
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Is it legal for the President of the United States to order a wiretap on a citizen of the United States?
In light of President Trump's allegations against the Obama administration: Is it legal for the President of the United States to order a wiretap and/or other federal surveillance of a citizen of the ...
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What are the implications of the new executive order regarding social media?
As I understand it, Trump is planning to issue an executive order that claims some social media platforms are violating the Communication Decency Act Section 230 by not acting in good faith, and as a ...
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Does the President really have the absolute right to declassify anything he wants to?
The claim has been made by Donald Trump and many others that the sitting President has the absolute right to declassify any documents he wishes. Leaving aside the issue of what procedure he would have ...
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Assuming the U.S. President is convicted of a crime in their unofficial person, what happens next?
Assuming that, e.g., a sitting President went and shot somebody, and was duly convicted by a jury of his/her peers, etc., in...let's say Washington D.C.... What would happen to the sentence? Would ...
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