President Trump’s Claim of an “Irrefutable” Argument Supporting His Right to Unilaterally Impose Voter ID and Election Rules May Be Based on Insane Claim that Marriott Hotel Manager Found Secret Text in the Shadows of a Microfilm Copy of the U.S. Constitution

Yesterday I noted the latest set of unhinged social media posts from President Trump in which he declared that voter id requirements and other election changes would be imposed in the midterms via executive order whether approved by Congress or not. I pointed out in response to that an executive order is not a royal edict; it is not law. It is a direction to the executive branch as to how to carry out the law. Also, key parts of Trump’s last EO on elections have been stopped by federal courts, ruling that the President has no role to play in federal elections.

One of the odd parts of Trump’s post was the statement that “I have searched the depths of legal arguments not yet articulated or vetted on this subject, and will be presenting an irrefutable one in the near future.” What could Trump have been referring to? I originally had no idea, but then a reader wrote to me for comment about an obscure post which seems insane but could explain the big Trump reveal to come:

It’s possible states innocently believe they have unrestrained Constitutional authority to create election rules within their borders.

But they’re about to learn that’s not so, reports John N. Goodman, a retired Hallandale Beach man who shared some research he conducted with a fellow “Election Integrity” advocate with links to the White House. That research found its way to Washington, D.C. recently when My Pillow founder Mike Lindell met with President Donald J. Trump. Lindell shared Goodman’s research after Steve Stern, the Vice Chairman of the Broward County Republican Executive Committee, contacted Lindell, Stern confirmed. Stern also was contacted afterwards by a White House source verifying the President learned about Goodman’s research….

A former manager for Marriott Hotels, Goodman spent six weeks at the main branch of the Broward County Library System in Ft. Lauderdale. He was reading a microfilm copy of the original U.S. Constitution, eventually spotting an apparent shadow that turned out to be a significant find.

According to Goodman, a Kentucky native, he stumbled upon wording that wasn’t commonly known, although he speculates Supreme Court justices were familiar with the words because a majority opinion in U.S. Term Limits v Thorton echoed that hallowed language.

In an email this morning, he wrote, it’s “important to point out to your readers that the Constitution on the surface says that the states do have 100% power over elections, but (there was an) obstructed console that was not noticed for many many years because it looks exactly like a faded shadow from the line above it, (so) I decided to go back the next day with a high-powered magnifier to add to the microfilm magnifier in order to still barely make out what it said… it said dictate electoral outcomes unfairly and the states cannot do that and then the actual words dictate electoral outcomes is also in that 1995 Supreme Court case and they elaborate in great detail such as the states powers designed by the framers were meant to be procedural, and their actions cannot compromise integrity of the election (to) favor or disfavor a certain class of candidate, or evade constitutional restraints.”

This treasure chest Constitutional finding, backed up by a Supreme Court decision, undermines the efforts of states that sought to keep Trump off the ballot in 2024, when he won a second term, Goodman argues. He also contends the huge expansion of vote by mail is a state action that tips the scale in favor of a certain candidate or party.

Clearly, though, Goodman isn’t a Constitutional scholar, let alone an attorney. However, his research eventually put him in touch with two attorneys who are working with President Trump to clean up our voting system, he says. This connection provided him with some insight into what is about to unfold when the President announces action that includes a second Executive Order on Election Integrity.

Key underpinnings of upcoming action, Goodman says, revolve around the 1995 Supreme Court decision. Another force driving President Trump is his belief that the 2020 election was “rigged” and “stolen” from him. In a phone conversation lasting more than an hour last night, Goodman, fascinated with politics since high school, spelled out his role as a private citizen and what he believes will happen soon. He agreed to speak with me as long as I withheld details of that conversation until after White House decisions become finalized and public.

As I wrote to the person who asked me about this, The idea that there is hidden language in the Constitution that vests electoral power in the federal government, in contradiction to the actual vesting in the states subject to congressional override in t elections, is laughable. If this is what the President was referring to as “irrefutable” proof to support an executive order on elections, he’s more gullible and ignorant than I thought.

If this is what President Trump’s lawyers are going to hang their hats on, they are going to be the laughing stock among lawyers.