CONSTITUTIONAL INTERPRETATIONS

Today is the fourth anniversary of the events of January 6, 2021. Yesterday, President-Elect Donald J. Trump once again claimed that on that date four years ago, Vice President Michael Pence could have, and should have sent the Electoral Vote certificates he had received from certain states back to those states for reconsideration, as Mr. Trump had requested. By making that request of Mr. Pence, Mr. Trump violated the oath of office he had taken, approximately four years earlier, to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” U.S. Const., Article II, Section 1, last sentence. That document expressly prohibited Mr. Pence from following Mr. Trump’s proposed course of action. U.S. Const., Amendment XII: “The President of the Senate [i.e. Mr. Pence] shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted . . . .” (emphasis added)