Harvard Law Professor Laurence Tribe: The coin would be perfectly legal

Harvard Law Professor Laurence Tribe endorses the legality of the trillion dollar coin option:

I don't think it makes sense to think about this as some sort of 'loophole' issue. Using the statute this way doesn't entail exploiting a loophole; it entails just reading the plain language that Congress used. The statute clearly does authorize the issuance of trillion-dollar coins.

Tribe acknowledges that Congress didn't write the statute with the idea in mind that it would be used for this purpose, but given that the language is utterly clear and completely unambiguous, he says Congressional intent is irrelevant. Moreover:

It's also quite clear that the minting of such a coin couldn't be challenged; I don't see who would have standing.

Tribe's bottom line is that the question isn't whether or not minting a trillion dollar coin is a viable legal option'it's whether minting a trillion dollar coin is a good idea. That's a question the administration will only need to answer if Republicans follow through on their debt limit bluff, but given that they'd be choosing between (a) avoiding getting mocked by Republican hacks for minting a coin or (b) avoiding national default and the resultant economic damage, it seems like a question with a pretty simple answer.

Please sign the petition asking President Obama to mint the trillion dollar coin if Republicans attempt to force the nation into default.