T. Belman. Dershowitz must have said these things before Giuliani and Powell announced on the weekend that they had the requisite evidence and intend to switch all battleground states.
BY
November 15, 2020Legal counsel for President Donald Trump, Alan Dershowitz speaks during impeachment proceedings against U.S. President Donald Trump in the Senate at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 27, 2020. (Senate Television via Getty Images)
Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz predicted that President Donald Trump will attempt to settle the election in a way not seen since the 19th century.
In an interview with Newsmax, the longtime legal expert said Trump no longer is attempting to reach 270 Electoral College votes but will instead focus on denying Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s chances of getting 270 votes.
“Let’s look at the big picture: The big picture now has shifted,” Dershowitz told the website. “I do not believe that President Trump is now trying to get to 270 electoral votes. I think he thinks that’s out of the question.”
Trump hasn’t signaled in public about his chances of securing 270 votes due to several legal challenges.
“What he’s trying to do is to deny Joe Biden 270 votes, by challenging in Pennsylvania, Georgia, in Nevada, in Michigan, in Arizona,” Dershowitz said, adding that not allowing Biden to reach 270 out of 538 votes would eventually force House state delegations to vote, where Republicans have an advantage over Democrats. Currently, the GOP has a 26-23-1 state delegation majority in the House of Representatives.
“If he can keep the Biden count below 270, then the matter goes to the House of Representatives, where, of course, there is a Republican majority among the delegations of states, and you vote by state if it goes to the House,” Dershowitz said. “He’s trying to follow the playbook of three elections of the 19th century.”
Dershowitz noted that a number of things would have to align perfectly for Trump to win under that circumstance.
“You need a perfect storm for it to work,” he said. “You need to get enough states, enough state attorneys general, or state departments, or whoever, secretaries of state or governors that are Republican that legitimately refuse to certify the results because they’re under challenge on the day the Electoral College meets by statute.”
“If on that day, Biden doesn’t have 270 votes—you don’t get to vote two or three times on that; as far as the Constitution’s concerned, it’s one vote—and if the one vote doesn’t give the leading candidate 270 electoral votes, then automatically it goes to the House of Representatives, where a whole new process takes over, and a process that clearly favors President Trump,” added the former law professor.
Trump’s campaign or legal team hasn’t publicly stated whether that strategy is in play. Currently, his lawyers have a number of lawsuits filed in several battleground states, including at least one that is slated to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Dershowitz served on Trump’s legal team during the Senate impeachment trial earlier this year.
Other Interpretations
According to a Reuters article on Nov. 4, “Normally, governors certify the [election] results in their respective states and share the information with Congress.”
However, it noted, “some academics have outlined a scenario in which the governor and the legislature in a closely contested state submit two different election results. Battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Carolina all have Democratic governors and Republican-controlled legislatures.”
“It is unclear in this scenario whether Congress should accept the governor’s electoral slate or not count the state’s electoral votes at all,” Reuters said, citing experts.
It further cited the 1876 disputed election, in which three states appointed “dueling electors” that triggered Congress to pass the Electoral Count Act of 1887, which means that “each chamber of Congress would separately decide which slate of ‘dueling electors’ to accept.”
Republicans are in control of the Senate, and Democrats are in control of the House.
“If the two chambers disagree, it’s not entirely clear what would happen,” the article says, citing experts.
In regard to some of these Electoral College laws and scenarios, “it is fair to say that none of these laws has been stress-tested before,” Benjamin Ginsberg, a lawyer who represented the Bush campaign in 2000, told the news agency.
A contingent election could also be in play, where neither candidate reaches 270 votes. The Reuters article echoed Dershowitz in saying that it means that the 50 House delegations—of which the GOP has a majority—would vote on the president, while the vice president would be chosen by the GOP-controlled Senate.
Jan. 20 is when the term of a current president ends. If the dispute isn’t ended by then, according to law, the House speaker is named president for the interim.
@ Edgar G.:
Edgar, you don’t know how near to the mark you are. The acapella is the only instrument I can play; but I do have a good memory for psalms and scripture songs. I’ve often sung them on my own, and sometimes even in the church that gave me the “left boot of fellowship”. Often, I’ve gone to the open mike to sing them, not even able to call them to mind, save a few words. I would just open my mouth and start singing, to no accompaniment, and the song would come out.
I think most of the scriptures I remember, I heard in song, nearly always from Tanakh. My favorites were composed by Joel & Nancy Severson, and Paul Johnson, who used to play and sing them around a campfire. On of them was from Psalms 61-62:
O God, hear my cry; attend unto my prayer.
From the ends of the earth I will cry unto Thee, when my heart is overwhelmed.
Chorus:
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I
For Thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.
I will abide in Thy tent forever.
I will trust in the covert of thy wings;
I will trust in the covert of thy wings.
Truly my soul waiteth upon my God.
He only is my rock and my salvation.
I shall not be greatly moved
I shall not be greatly moved.
Trust in Him all of ye people;
Pour out your hearts before Him.
God is a refuge unto us.
God is a refuge unto us.
God has spoken once; twice have I heard this;
That power belongeth unto God;
Power belongeth unto God.
I will sing praise unto Thy name; I will sing praise unto Thy name.
(Repeat first verse & chorus)
@ Edgar G.:
I’ll know more after 4 this afternoon when I listen to the R&R Legal Team on Youtube. I recommended them to our members a wile ago, but have had no response. I suppose we all have our own pet stations and outlets.
This spokesman lays out all the legal and social connecting activity, shows copies of the filings, suit claims, legal decisions and explores various reasons for the Trump Team doing what it does. Very informative. Lasts 60-90 mins.
I don’t like what I hear coming out of the Trump Legal Team today..
@ Sebastien Zorn:
Excellet enxample of “willfully misunderstanding….Perhaps I should have said that we 3 have things in common. You play viola in a String Quartette, I ran a New Orleans Jazz Band for many years and have played all my life, whilst Michael, now that I think about it, in his dreams must hear the sound of angels playing on harps, the happy dreams of all religious Christians……
Edgar G. Said:
Didn’t know that about either of you.
Michael S Said:
And same sentiments from me, Michael. I am sorry you have been ill and I am glad you are feeling better. Also, thanks for the good word and the smiley emoji from before. I am also glad you are feeling equanimity and are in good company. All the best to you and yours.
@ Michael S:
That’s O.K. Michael, we DO resemble one another as we’re both musicians…..My sentiments are heart-felt.
Well even the highest mountains crumble to sand after time beyond what we can comprehend, except perhaps, philosophically.
@ Michael S:
Oops. Sorry, Edgar. For some odd reason, I thought your post was from Sebastien. Same sentiments, though — My wife and I pray for you all the time.
@ Edgar G.:
Sebastien, my health has actually been improving steadily through the lockdowns; but neither my wife nor I look to death as a bad thing. We both look forward to getting together again with friends and family, along with our patriarchs. God has all of us here for a season and a reason. The same goes for this country.
@ Michael S:
Michael- I saw elsewhere that you detailed some very serious health problems. I truly wish the best for you, and that you are around for a very long time. It was very distressing for me to read–for certain. With modern medical aids, something should be able to benefit you…..Think of Dick Cheyney for instance. Ans lately, Bernie Sanders. .Think of the pressures and tensions they must have been and are, under.
“Col” Bob Sheridan, to whom I’ve listened for many years….You should look him up. You’ll be astonished.
@ Sebastien Zorn:
Sebastien Zorn Said:
‘”s”……….Don’t mention it, It was a pleasure to follow each step-by-step post.
Reader Said:
ZOA Condemns Holocaust Lecturer Deborah Lipstadt for Defending & Promoting Biden’s Obscene Comparison of Trump to Nazi Goebbels