A senior diplomat with a European Union government allegedly told former NSA intelligence analyst and counterintelligence officer and Daily Beast columnist John Schindler that his/her government believes President Barack Obama is ‘quite mentally unwell’ and inquired about impeachment–an apparent suggestion that his/her government believes Obama is unfit to serve as president and should be removed from office–according to a tweet by Schindler posted Monday.
Had a senior EU diplomat, old friend, ask me today, "How does your impeachment work? My government believes Obama is quite mentally unwell."
— John Schindler (@20committee) October 12, 2015
“Had a senior EU diplomat, old friend, ask me today, “How does your impeachment work? My government believes Obama is quite mentally unwell.””
What is striking is that the ‘senior EU diplomat’ said it was the opinion of his/her government, not his/her personal opinion, that Obama was considered a candidate for removal from office for insanity.
The European Union Web site lists the following countries as members. One of these nations apparently believes Obama is “quite mentally unwell”:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
The constitutionally mandated process for removing Obama from office over mental health issues would be to invoke Section 4 of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment.
“Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
“Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.”
An excerpt of Schindler’s bio describes his intel/foreign affairs background:
“…he spent nearly a decade with the super-secret National Security Agency as an intelligence analyst and counterintelligence officer. There’s not much he can say about that, except that he worked problems in Eastern Europe and the Middle East with a counterespionage flavor, and he collaborated closely with other government agencies who would probably prefer he didn’t mention them. He’s also served as an officer specializing in cryptology (now called information warfare for no particular reason) in the U.S. Navy Reserve.”
