THE BACKDOOR OPTION THAT COULD KEEP THE GOP IN CONTROL OF CONGRESS

Two months ago I wrote here about Presidential Emergency Action Documents (PEADs) that have afforded President Donald Trump, and every president in the last seven decades, extraordinary secret powers to suspend the basic rights of citizens in a domestic crisis with no Congressional or judicial oversight. Those powers essentially give any president the power to upend the Constitution if deemed necessary.

I was helped in my reporting on PEADs by Joel McCleary, a former aide on security issues to President Jimmy Carter who has now focused my attention on another top secret codicil to PEADs known as COGCON, which stands for Continuity of Government Readiness Condition.