Transcript
Discussion (0)
Hello there everyone, Judge Andrew Napolitano here for Judging Freedom. Today is Friday, April 15, Good Friday.
It's about 11.05 in the morning on the east coast of the United States.
Bubbling up, but still beneath the surface on Capitol Hill is a whispering campaign.
It's not so much a campaign as it is
a gut-wrenching conversation about the mental condition of the senior senator from California,
Senator Dianne Feinstein, and Democrats themselves who are fond of her and who agree with her
politically are whispering that she is no longer mentally capable or may no longer be
capable mentally of serving as a United States senator. If you Google this, you'll see these
pieces. No one wants to be quoted, and I don't blame them. A lot of these folks are trying to
be compassionate and sympathetic, but also concerned about the Constitution, which says that every
state is entitled to two senators. And if she's no longer mentally there, is she serving as a
senator? And if she's not mentally there, and if she's not serving as a senator, what to do about
it? The short answer is nothing. The short answer is the people of the state of California have sent her there. There is no provision for the United States Senate to kick her out because she's not thinking clearly. The best thing that people can do, people who know her and people who love her, is she even mentally competent to resign? Does she understand what
she's doing if she signs a letter of resignation, which would go to California Governor Gavin
Newsom, and then he would appoint someone either to serve until this November's election or until
the end of her term, which is in January of 25. That's the end of her term. So she'd be
up for reelection in November of 24, but the term she currently serves goes until January 25. It's
a very, very difficult thing to deal with. The Constitution doesn't contemplate it. The federal
statutes don't contemplate it. The rules of the Senate don't contemplate it.
So the best thing people can do is to chat with her and make a decision and see if they can talk her into doing the right thing, which is probably resigning. Look, I think the voters in California
are crazy, but they're voters. It's the United States of America, and they're entitled to
representation in the Senate.
And representation in the Senate means a person who knows what she's doing.
Judge Napolitano for judging freedom.