The Secret Service has reportedly prepared for a scenario where they are needed to force Donald Trump to leave the White House if he loses to Joe Biden yet refuses to concede.
By Roland T. Flackfizer
For several months, sitting President Donald Trump has refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power and has made clear he will refuse to accept any election result that sees his opponent as the winner as inherently fraudulent. Anthony Scaramucci, the former White House communications director, told the UK’s i News that the Secret Service has made classified procedures in the event Trump attempts to stay in the White House despite clear election results. Scaramucci, who has was ousted as communications director yet still corresponds with sources within the administration said: ‘The Secret Service and the US Marine Corps that protects that 18-acre area known as the West Wing and the old executive building complex have already had discussions – “who is taking him out of there if he doesn’t want to go?”
‘It’s been decided that it’s the Secret Service because it’s more of a civilian protection role than a military one,’ he added.
Scaramucci went on to assail Trump as “the most hated person in Western civilization” and suggested he would attempt to stay in office because he will have nowhere else to go. ‘If he loses, where’s he gonna go?’ Scaramucci embellished. ‘He’ll have to leave because the Generals and the courts won’t help him.’
Joe Biden’s campaign chimed in on the matter stating “As we said on July 19th, the American people will decide this election. And the United States government is perfectly capable of escorting trespassers out of the White House,” Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates said on Friday.
As for what the course of events could look like if Trump does indeed refuse to concede, procedure then is clear.
“At that point it gets passed on to Congress [usually by Dec. 23] and certified in Congress on Jan. 6 by the [outgoing] vice president,” said Robert Shapiro, a professor and the former acting director of Columbia University’s Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy.
Shapiro elaborated to the media, “Now, on the 6th, let’s say that the House and the Senate accept that the new president of the United States is Joe Biden. At that juncture, if Trump doesn’t want to vacate the White House, this is very easy”
Trump would then be unable to rely on any U.S. institutions to cling to power.
“Somebody swears [Biden] in as president. It could be the chief justice of the Supreme Court. It could be his grandmother. As of Noon on the 20th [of January], he’s the president of the United States. The entire Secret Service reports to him,” Shapiro said. “Donald Trump as the outgoing president has a contingent of Secret Service. Biden goes to the White House and the Secret Service escorts Trump out. That’s what happens. All the civil service of the government, every employee of the United States reports to Joe Biden at that juncture.”
There is, of course, a strong possibility of Trump leaving office and then running again in 2024, the president’s former strategist Steve Bannon told The Australian. “If for any reason the election is stolen from, or in some sort of way Joe Biden is declared the winner, Trump will announce he’s going to run for re-election in 2024,’ Bannon elaborated. ‘You’re not going to see the end of Donald Trump.’
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Gerry
Why is Bannon not in jail already? Look how low 45 supporters have sunk. What an embarrassment. 45 should lose his security clearance and secret service detail immediately after the inauguration. Can you run for POTUS from jail?