Same for seizing voting machines or ballots, which were already counted by January 6.Īnything Trump might have tried to do on January 6 would have required the military to play along, which there is no evidence the military did. More importantly, troops in the streets have nothing to do with votes that are already in ballot boxes. The military's role under this law is limited, and the existence of the Insurrection Act in no way puts the military “in charge” and does not suspend the normal functions and authorities of Congress, state legislatures, or the courts. The Insurrection Act of 1807 is the one statutory exception to the Posse Comitatus Act that does allow the president to deploy the military domestically, but, by precedent, the armed forces can only be used to suppress armed insurrections or to execute the laws when local or state authorities are unable or unwilling to do so. That business of tanks on the White House lawn? Someone has already thought it through. Although an uneasy climate of mutual aid has always existed between the military and civilian law enforcement, Department of Defense personnel are limited in what they can do to enforce civil law. Martial law has been declared nine times since World War II, five of which were to counter resistance to desegregation in the South. The " web of laws" Congress enacted to govern the domestic activities of the armed forces-including the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits the use of federal troops to execute the law without express congressional authorization-would stop Trump cold.Īccording to well-settled principles of constitutional practice, the president cannot act in a way Congress has forbidden unless the Constitution gives the president “ conclusive and preclusive” power over the issue in dispute. The president cannot use the military domestically in a way Congress does not agree with. That hard reality is wholly missing from the Democrats' January 6 committee hearings and all the frou-frou that accompanies them.Ĭould Trump have used the Capitol riot to declare martial law and stay in power? No. Instead, America transitioned peacefully from one administration to another. To stage a coup, you need tanks on the White House lawn. This is politically much ado about not much, except Democratic Party 2024 electioneering. Think back to the 1960s and ask yourself if occupying the administration building on campus would have stopped the Vietnam War in its tracks. Absent that, you had political theater and a riot, not a coup attempt. It would be easier to take the Democrats seriously if they would coolly outline just how Trump could have stayed in office without the military, who were clearly not taking a partisan stance on January 6.
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