A State of Treason

by David Thomas Roberts

  “We have the backing of the majority of Texans. I suggest we draw up a list of demands on this administration; otherwise, we’ll be forced to take the next steps,” said Gov. Cooper.

  “I thought we already did that, asking for the impeachment vote,” said Pena.

  “May I remind you, sir, that I offered to surrender if the impeachment vote was carried forward. It never made it out of committee,” said Cooper defiantly. “That was likely the only thing you good congressmen could have done that may have stopped the Independence referendum. Now the rest of the world knows we’re serious, even if it was non-binding at that time. The situation has gotten much more serious and Texans recognize this.”

  “Sir, just how much do you expect Texans to suffer just because you won’t turn yourself over to federal authorities?” asked Pena.

  “Congressman, if the majority of Texans decide that is the best course, they’ll let me know. I believe you saw the results of the referendum. I don’t believe average Texans are of the same mind as you.”

  Congressman Pena knew his office was getting bombarded with phone calls, emails and social media posts that agreed with the governor. He offered ineffective arguments and little resistance. Packing up his computer and briefcase, he huffed out of the room.

  Several of the Democrats who didn’t agree with the governor left the meeting with Pena as a de facto show of non-support for the governor’s position. The small group that remained represented the most loyal stalwarts of Gov. Cooper.

  Of chief concern to Younger and Conroy was protecting the governor. Both were convinced the administration would try to remove him and other state officials from Texas in some manner to pursue charges against them for the disaster and embarrassment the administration suffered over the arrest of federal agents.

  The group continued to discuss their options into the early morning hours of the next day, drafting demands to be made upon the administration and planning Texas’ next move.

  It was a critical time once again in the glorious history of Texas, and the governor wondered if Texans were up to the challenge. He couldn’t help thinking about one of Sam Houston’s most famous quotes, and he took some comfort in the belief that Texans at the core are defiant and resolute. He recalled Houston’s famous words: “Texas has yet to learn submission to any oppression, come from what source it may.”

  Chapter 3

  “Patriots have long memories.”

  ~ Charlie Daniels

  Country & Southern Rock Artist

  American Patriot

  The White House situation room was abuzz with activity. Democratic operatives, the president’s full cabinet and the military chief of staff were all in attendance, waiting on President Johnson and Atty. Gen. Tibbs.

  Even the president’s long-time political ally, Chicago Mayor Davian Kyler, was present, despite the fact that he didn’t have clearance to be at such a high level meeting.

  Vice President Doolittle and Treasury Secretary Benjamin Gould were in deep conversation when the president’s press secretary, Ted Duncan, walked in.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, the president will be here in about two minutes. Please take a seat so we can start as soon as he arrives,” said Duncan. The president’s second press secretary, who looked like the quintessential nerd with thick black rim glasses, Duncan was fiercely loyal to President Johnson despite the fact that the president regularly left him hanging out to dry with the press and often produced contradictory statements. Many times, the president or Chief of Staff Cliff Radford intentionally fed Duncan misinformation or failed to brief him in full, leaving him to fend for himself in regular White House press briefings.

  Some were still standing in discussions as the president walked in with Secy. of State Annabelle Bartlett. Most who didn’t know President Johnson well thought he was an affable and friendly guy who was the ultimate in cool. What they didn’t know was that those close to him knew all too well that Johnson demanded certain protocol and respect. He alone had ushered the Democrats back into power and won re-election when economic numbers were dismal. Never had an American president won re-election when unemployment was over eight percent or gas prices were as high as they were.

  Agitated that people still stood engaged in several private conversations, Johnson sat down and began talking immediately. At one point he was talking over Doolittle, which forced the president to pause and wait for the vice president and the treasury secretary to sit. The president’s cold stare was enough to shut down any other conversations.

  “Excuse me, Mr. President, I hadn’t realized you arrived,” said Doolittle. People didn’t know how to take Doolittle. The continuous smirk on his face meant that one could never really tell if he was mocking the person he was talking to or if he was genuinely goofy. Part of this perception came from the vice president continually putting his foot in his mouth with gaffes only he seemed to be able to get away with.

  Once Doolittle settled in his chair, the president began again.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, let’s dive right in. We have a serious situation in Texas. I have asked several folks to brief us on their areas of expertise with regard to Texas. I’ll start with Defense Secy. Harry Brooks.”

  Everyone turned to look at Brooks at the opposite end of the large mahogany conference table. With his grey hair and beard, and spectacles, Brooks looked like a banker or a bookkeeper, definitely not like a high ranking member of President Johnson’s cabinet.

  Brooks was relatively new in the position, taking over after the resignation of the former defense secretary in the president’s first term. Before Brooks could be appointed, he went through a brutal Senate confirmation hearing, especially blistering from Sen. Roberto Perez, the newly elected Tea Party candidate from Texas. The administration painted the senator as an “obstructionist,” along with the rest of the Tea Party.

  “We have positioned troops on all major roadways on Texas’ state lines with New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. We are letting those with Texas drivers’ licenses in but not out. We are not allowing any trucks, shipments, or private vehicles to enter the state unless they are residents. Truckers are required to drop their trailers at designated holding areas if they want to re-enter unless they prove they are empty.”

  Brooks had a slide presentation being shown on all the screens in the situation room, but never looked any further over his spectacles than to see the papers directly in front of him. The secretary didn’t have much of a personality and delivered his report to the president and his staff in his usual dull monotone.

  “It appears the governor has placed his Texas Guard and Texas Militia troops just opposite us at every location. In most cases, the troops can see each other but, except for two incidents in Texarkana, there have been no conflicts. In both of those incidents, shots were fired from both sides but nobody was injured and both sides stood down.”

  Brooks looked up over his spectacles again. “It is apparent that these guard and militia troops are there in case we decide to advance beyond the state lines.”

  “What about our military bases in Texas? What’s the status there?” asked Johnson.

  Brooks hesitated slightly because he knew the president was especially sensitive to this subject.

  “Right now, all air bases in Texas are locked down. Texas has control of all aviation assets, traffic control towers, fuel and runways.”

  “Goddamn, Harry, how in hell is that possible?”

  “Mr. President, we’ve discussed this. My predecessor had not envisioned this possibility. We were simply surprised and out-maneuvered. I don’t know any other way to say it.”

  “How do we get them back?” Johnson demanded.

  “Mr. President, it would take a special operations task force or full military intervention to take these bases back. Regardless of the political consequences, any Special Forces operations in Texas would be tedious and dangerous. Also, I think I should mention that Special Forces and command are heavily populated
with Texans or those sympathetic to Texas.”

  “Harry, I want a military option on my desk in forty-eight hours to take these damned bases back. Am I clear?”

  “Yes, sir,” returned Brooks, motioning to a four-star general seated behind him. The general and several other uniformed officers left the room immediately.

  Johnson had made his thoughts known to his entire cabinet when the Texas crisis escalated and the Texans captured the bases. He wondered how the most powerful military in the world could lose bases in its own country to part-time guardsmen and volunteer militia?

  “Okay. Treasury Secy. Gould, you’re up.”

  “Thank you, Mr. President,” said Gould who, unlike Brooks, stood up to make his report. Gould was dressed in a dark blue twenty-five hundred dollar suit, and was a Columbia graduate like the president, although Gould didn’t go to Harvard Law as the president did.

  “We have essentially shut down any federal payments to Texas with the exception of federal government employees. We continue to pay all federal employees. We have ramped up IRS scrutiny on known Tea Party associates.”

  No one in the room seemed alarmed by Gould’s last comment. If they were, they weren’t about to bring it up to a full cabinet meeting because they had all demonized the Tea Party at one time or another.

  “What about Social Security, Medicare and retired military benefits?” asked Secy. of State Bartlett.

  Gould looked nervously at the president, then continued, “The intent of shutting down federal payments is to create pressure on Texas elected officials. People won’t get their Social Security checks, their veterans’ retirement benefits or income tax refunds. Only active duty military and current federal employees will receive any monies whatsoever in Texas. We have also halted all government payments to contractors or suppliers that we have identified as Texas-based or Texas entities.”

  Secy. of State Bartlett interrupted. “Mr. President, with all due respect, sir, I do worry about how the cessation of Social Security checks and veterans’ retirement benefits will be viewed by Americans and your adversaries.”

  “Madam Secretary, obviously we have this concern as well, but we have weighed it against the alternatives and feel that Texans will place insurmountable pressure on Gov. Cooper to turn himself in. Additionally, we have started the political and public relations campaign to show that the governor could end his state’s misery if he turned himself in,” retorted Radford.

  “Is it having any effect?” Bartlett asked.

  “It’s too early; so far, most of them are only a few days late in receiving checks, so the heat will start to turn up on Cooper in the coming days,” answered Gould.

  “What about their gold reserves?” asked Johnson.

  “Mr. President, we have confiscated the gold and moved it to a secret government location. Again, this is intended to create more pressure on Texas state government.”

  “So what does that mean, given the current situation?” asked Bartlett.

  Gould looked at the president, wondering if he wanted him to answer such a direct question. Johnson nodded affirmatively.

  “Well, with Texas owning gold, that means the state has the means to trade with other countries if they can get goods into or out of Texas. They also have oil reserves. This is more of a concern long-term than short-term. According to Secy. Brooks, we have Texas blockaded so, even if they could trade, they wouldn’t be able to get those goods into Texas.”

  What Gould did not bring up was what several in the room knew to be true: Texas had enough gold to start its own gold-based currency if the state were to go it alone as a result of this current or any future crisis. However, Texas would have to have the gold on hand, and the federal government had moved that gold to an undisclosed location.

  “Next, let’s hear from Secy. of State Bartlett,” offered the president.

  Secy. Bartlett got up to address the group. She wore a thin pink skirt and matching blouse that seemed to be right out of the fifties. Bartlett was in her sixties, probably thirty pounds overweight, with hair that always seemed slightly greasy at the roots. Even in the White House, some referred to her as Secretary “Frumpy.” Up close and in person, she looked fifteen years older than she was. Bartlett always dressed in a manner that was unflattering, but she was an astute and ruthless politician. She remained popular in the Democratic Party, with many still clinging to the hope she might one day be the first female president. She and the president’s relationship, however, bore the scars of past political battles.

  “I have spoken with many of our allies,” she said. “They are deeply concerned about this crisis, not so much the loss of life that occurred in Austin, but about the stability of the United States and how it affects the tenuous financial markets in Asia and Europe.”

  “That figures,” sniped Gould.

  “We have complaints at the UN and from Amnesty International about the tactics used with the Tea Party in Texas and other states. Those actions do not present this administration in a positive light on the international stage,” continued Bartlett.

  Johnson was extremely sensitive to criticism and typically lashed out at reporters, fellow politicians and the media for anyone questioning him or his administration. While Bartlett was speaking, it was obvious the president was working very hard to resist responding. He was visibly agitated as Bartlett continued her assessment.

  “I do believe any further armed incursion into one of our states will de-stabilize global financial markets and risk condemnation from our allies and others,” Bartlett said. Many in the room nodded, some almost subconsciously.

  “Further, I think everyone should consider this. Shortly before this crisis began, we started to see the GOP start to unravel. Their leadership bickered among themselves and created a clear split that totally fractured the party. This crisis has the potential to galvanize the GOP once again. Are we missing an opportunity here, folks, simply because we want to arrest the Texas governor?”

  “Now you wait just a goddamned minute,” yelled Atty. Gen. Tibbs.

  “Mr. Tibbs, you can respond when I’m done,” shot back Bartlett.

  “Madam Secretary…”

  “Mr. Tibbs…” said Bartlett forcefully, surprising the attorney general with her substantial gravitas. He sat back down, causing Doolittle to sport his famous smirk again. Doolittle had always been jealous of the president’s trust in Tibbs.

  “If we do this correctly, the GOP may take twenty years to recover. Screw Texas. I’m not here to provide an opinion on how Justice played its hand with the Rash Sally investigation, but everyone would be naïve to think the tactics we used as a result of that investigation aren’t part of the reason we are all sitting here,” said Bartlett, looking around the room as if she were some matriarch or school principal scolding her underlings. She had the full attention of everyone in the room at this point. Tibbs, however, was fuming, and Johnson looked uncomfortable.

  “Now, I’m not saying the Tea Party didn’t deserve any of this,” Bartlett continued. “They did. But make no mistake. You didn’t eradicate them, Mr. Tibbs. You made them go underground temporarily and, when they rear their heads again, they could be potentially more impactful than they were previously.”

  Avery Smith, the trusted architect of the president’s last two successful election campaigns, sat quietly for all the other presentations, but rose out of his chair after the last comment from Bartlett.

  Smith was tall at 6’2,” but he had a disheveled look with his balding head, bushy mustache, and a suit that always seemed wrinkled. His tie was never tied correctly nor was it ever straight, and it was not uncommon for him to have food stains on his button-down shirt or tie.

  “Secy. Bartlett has a point,” he interjected smoothly. “We have had the GOP on the run for a couple of years. I know we want Gov. Cooper’s head on a stick, but think how this will play if we avert a larger crisis because of diplomacy.”

  “Avery, let me remind you that eighteen federal a
gents and U.S. Army troops are dead as a direct result of that cowboy’s actions,” interrupted Tibbs.

  “Jamail, let’s be frank. The GOP is in complete disarray. The fractures that began in the 2010 mid-term elections have morphed into political mutiny by many Republicans in the South and in Texas.” Smith leaned forward, resting his chin on a thumb and his fingers, and continued in a silky, calm tone. “Let me also remind everyone that, just a few weeks ago, we were sweating out a possible impeachment hearing, and there are likely more repercussions possible in the Rash Sally investigation. So, sir, are you more interested in payback than in a diplomatic end to this crisis?” he asked.

  Up to this point, the president had been in agreement. Gov. Cooper, the Texas attorney general, and Ranger Pops Younger had completely embarrassed the administration, the Justice Department, the U.S. Army, the FBI and the ATF.

  “Avery, I see what you are saying. I’m not in total agreement on this without trying another option first, but go ahead,” said the president.

  He turned to look at Annabelle Bartlett. “I’ll consider your option, Annabelle, but I’m not sold on it yet,” he told her.

  Smith looked around the room to gauge interest in this approach, then turned his gaze on Bartlett.

  Being the cagey old politician Secy. Bartlett was, she recognized the plum Smith was offering. She could be the heroine who ended the crisis single-handedly with no shots being fired. And, with Johnson out of presidential terms, Bartlett was the odds-on favorite to be at or near the top of the next Democratic presidential ticket. She was already contemplating leaving her post to prepare for an all-out fundraising effort and political campaign launch fully three years before the next election.

  Bartlett was also leery of the Rash Sally investigation. She wanted to leave the president’s cabinet to avoid being tainted with one more large scandal that now seemed permanently affixed to this administration. She was very uncomfortable with the signs pointing to the suspicious deaths of Justice Department whistleblower Tim Spilner and his wife, which could come back to haunt the administration in an unprecedented manner if someone could prove that any federal agency had been involved in those deaths. The Johnson administration had been adept at sidestepping scandals, but she wasn’t going to bet her potential presidential candidacy on averting a few more.