BOCA RATON - A Florida attorney continues his fight to have the mental capacity of President-elect Donald Trump examined.
Probate, trust and guardianship attorney James Herb filed a motion Nov. 17 for rehearing in the 15th Judicial Circuit Court in Palm Beach County. The motion comes after Herb’s original petition to have Trump declared mentally incapable of holding the office of the president, filed Oct. 4, was dismissed.
Petition filed declare Trump mentally incapable
| Morgue File
The petition stated, “His actions/statements appear to support a diagnosis as having histrionic personality disorder,” as well as narcissistic personality disorder.
The petition quotes the American Psychological Association’s definition of a personality disorder as “involving pervasive patterns of perceiving, relating to and thinking about the environment and the self that interfere with long-term functioning of the individual and are not limited to isolated episodes.”
Herb lists 200 statements made by Trump such as, “Who knows what’s in the deepest part of my mind?” and “As usual, Hillary & the Dems are trying to rig the debates so two are up against major NFL games.”
“I noted anything I heard on TV or at his rallies,” Herb told the Florida Record. "Statements that were bizarre or indicated some kind of mental incapabilities.”
According to the petition, the statements support that Trump, among other things, is unable to separate fact from fiction, can’t communicate coherently, isn’t consistent and is unable not to be delusional. All of which would point to Trump being incapable of holding the office.
“I wanted to try to do something beyond or separate from the election,” Herb said.
Currently, there is nothing of precedental value Herb was able to research when filing his petition. He did, however, look to the story of Louisiana governor Earl Long who was placed in a mental hospital after his time in office.
In addition, Herb said he spoke to psychologists that theoretically agree with him but because of the Goldwater Rule that states a doctor can’t make a diagnosis without personally examining a person, the psychologists can’t speak out on Herb’s behalf.
The petition lists several notable members of the Republican Party as having “knowledge of such facts through personal observations” including Jeb Bush, Paul Ryan, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio.
Herb hopes to sway the Electoral College to reverse the decision by having Trump examined by a medical doctor and being declared mentally incapable.
“I hope the Electoral College won’t simply have a knee jerk reaction to vote with the popular vote of the state,” Herb said.
He stresses the importance of the Electoral College, noting “The Framers didn’t want a candidate to have a straight forward shot to the presidency.”
Currently, there is no sanity requirement for becoming president so the Electoral College must decide if they think the candidate is capable or not. Herb realizes he is on a time crunch to have the petition heard as the Electoral College members have until Dec. 19 to cast their votes.