Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has petitioned the state Supreme Court to remove Governor Blagojevich.
She what?
Look, I'm not an expert in Illinois state law. Maybe the state Supreme Court there has the power to declare the Governor out of office. But I never heard of such a thing. When a Governor or President has done something so awful that he has to go, the remedy is impeachment. Courts are not empowered to remove them.
During the Clinton years, what would have happened if some attorney had asked the U.S. Supreme Court to declare President Clinton out of office? That would have been laughed at.
Again, this is all subject to the caveat the maybe Illinois has some unusual setup. But it sounds like grandstanding to me.
1 comment:
The AG can petition the Court to remove the governor, although not usually for an indictment.
According to the AP:
It is the first time in Illinois history that such an action was taken. The attorney general is applying a rule that was intended to cover cases where a governor is incapacitated for health reasons. Her motion indicates that his inability to serve because of the scandal is akin to a debilitating health issue.
The motion essentially declares that Blagojevich's legal problems amount to a disability that would not be resolved until he is either cleared of the charges or leaves office.
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