What Could Happen To The President-Elect After The Election?
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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - With Election Day less than one week away, some voters are starting to ask what could happen if either of the main Presidential candidates is elected.
The FBI's renewed investigation into Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and the agency's investigation into alleged potential ties between Donald Trump and Russia has spurred more discussion.
There are a variety of scenarios that could play out between November 8th and January 20th, the day the President and Vice-President are inaugurated.
While some people worry the potential scenarios could lead to a constitutional crisis, Tara Ross, a Dallas author, says the founders provided answers in the Constitution.
Ross wrote "Enlightened Democracy: The Case For The Electoral College" in 2004 and a second edition in 2012. She says if Hillary Clinton is elected President, the House could impeach her for alleged crimes during her time as Secretary of State. The author says the House doesn't have to wait until Election Day, members could act at anytime.
This could happen with an indictment of Clinton by a federal grand jury.
If the Senate convicts Clinton, Ross says she would then be ineligible to become President. "They wouldn't be removing her from office. That's not what's happening now, but it would be the part where they are disqualifying her from future office."
What happens next depends on the date.
If the former Secretary of State is impeached and convicted before the electoral college votes December 19th, Ross says, the Democratic National Committee could change their nominee. "People have this presumption that it's too late for that because Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton's names are on the ballot, but what people don't always know, you're not always voting for that candidate. You're voting for a slate of electors."
Texas has 38 electors, and the state legislature can also play a role on who the electors vote for President.
Ross says, "A lot of states would have a lot of leeway to say something to their electors like we're not a big fan of this happening right now. We would like you to vote for the Vice-Presidential nominee instead of the Presidential nominee or to give some direction like that."
She says state legislators would likely solicit citizens' opinions before they acted.
If Clinton were impeached and convicted after the electoral college votes, but before the votes are counted January 6th, Ross says the House would select the President from the top three remaining candidates. "The only votes on the table would be the ones cast for Donald Trump, and if Evan McMullin (a conservative running as an Independent) wins in Utah or a third party candidate (such as Libertarian Gary Johnson or Green Party candidate Jill Stein) gets some votes, they would also be candidates."
Under this scenario, Ross says each state delegation in the House would have one vote.
Ross says the Senate would vote for Clinton's Vice-Presidential nominee, Tim Kaine as Vice-President. "There's an 1872 precedent that suggests the vote for her would be invalid and couldn't be counted. I'm sure there would be a big fight about that."
Ross says there's no clear way to deal with it, an issue she brought up in her book in 2004, and still remains unsolved to this day.
If the former Secretary of State is impeached and convicted after January 6th, Ross says the Vice-President elect, Kaine becomes President and he would appoint a Vice-President, who would then be approved by the Senate. "Officially, legally, they are a president-elect after the votes are counted January 6th. At that point, you have provisions in federal law that will take over and provide for succession."
As for Donald Trump, Ross says even if he were to be indicted on a federal or state charge, he couldn't be impeached and convicted by Congress before being sworn in as President because he has never been a federal official.
Congress can only impeach a sitting President and not a president-elect, unless that person previously held federal office.
Ross says, "Trump's not eligible. He's never held federal office so he cannot be impeached. She has been in federal office."
There are questions about whether a sitting President can be prosecuted for a crime while still in office. Some legal scholars believe if a President is charged with a crime in office, he or she wouldn't be prosecuted until after leaving office.
However, the legal scholars have said the President would first have to be impeached and convicted by Congress. Other legal scholars say Presidents can still face civil lawsuits while they're in office and could face impeachment by Congress.
Some voters in Dallas said they were unaware of most of these scenarios.
"People just don't know about it. People just have no idea about this whole process. So a little education goes a long way," says Dallas resident, Brad Romney.
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