United States Code

I don't want to hurt you guys.

Why don't you just turn yourselves in? The use of any and all copyrighted material is solely for parody, news analysis, critique, or educational purposes as provided in United States Code, Title 17, a.k.a.

Fair Use.

I don't have to live.

As John Northcott explains, Trump's promise may actually be illegal.

Under U.S. Code eighteen subsection five ninety-seven, titled Expenditures to Influence Voting, both someone who offers anything or accepts anything to affect a vote would be breaking the law and liable to a fine or imprisonment or both.

Nonetheless, the U.S. president, in speaking to the faithful last night, appeared to do exactly that.

If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for five thousand dollars.

That's when he offered the cash, no terms or eligibility mentioned, no idea where the money would be coming from other than from the tariffs, no guarantee that Congress would approve, no idea whether or not it's legal, no idea how much of the estimated $1 trillion it would add to the national debt that $5,000 per adult would tally.

As to the legality, U.S. Code 597 under 18 reads expenditures to influence voting.

18 U.S. Code 597 has been on the books since 1948.

It is a federal law and it reads, quote, whoever makes or offers to make an expenditure to any person, either to vote or withhold his vote or to vote for or against any candidate, and whoever solicits, accepts, or receives any such expenditure in consideration of his vote or the withholding of his vote shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year or both, and if the violation was willful, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years or both.

seems open and shut.

In a statement, Mayor Mike Johnston of Denver, a Democrat who has sparred with the Trump administration over its mass deportation efforts, said his city would fight tooth and nail to prevent the stationing of ICE agents near polling sites.

Our right to vote is powerful and enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and U.S. Code, Paul Lopez, the Denver clerk and recorder, said in a statement.

The groups involved in the lawsuit, Common Cause, the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC, and UnidosUS, said recent ICE activity at polling locations was already chilling voter registration drives, canvassing efforts, and civic participation in the electoral process.

The organizations have also diverted funding, staff time, and ad space away from standard voter mobilization efforts toward establishing rapid response safety networks.

Let's see.

Yeah, there's apparently some information out there about what the U.S. Code does say about it.

I'll look at that at a different time because it'll be too much for me to read right now.

Maybe I'll catch a quick viewing of it during the break.

You're my property.

The way our system is set up now, a United States citizen, according to United States Code Section 18, a citizen is a vessel of which the United States has complete and total dominion.

That's just a subject.

So you own me? That's how they see it.

In a statement, Mayor Mike Johnston of Denver, a Democrat who has sparred with the Trump administration over its mass deportation efforts, said his city would fight tooth and nail to prevent the stationing of ICE agents near polling sites.

Our right to vote is powerful and enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and U.S. Code, Paul Lopez, the Denver clerk and recorder, said in a statement.

The groups involved in the lawsuit, Common Cause, the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC, and UnidosUS, said recent ICE activity at polling locations was already chilling voter registration drives, canvassing efforts, and civic participation in the electoral process.

The organizations have also diverted funding, staff time, and ad space away from standard voter mobilization efforts toward establishing rapid response safety networks.