by James Rosone
“Now, this is obviously a Democratic stronghold and the Republicans do not tend to do well in those districts, but historically, the Republicans have nearly always polled around 31 percent of the vote. However, yesterday, the Republicans obtained just 18 percent of the vote in that same district. That’s a full 13 percent drop in just a two-year period.”
She pulled at her ponytail. “Couldn’t that just be attributed to the terrorist attacks that happened in Orlando and Tampa?” she asked.
Neil replied, “It could, if that held true for all voter turnout across the entire state, but not for a single party and not in just four districts in the state. What makes this more problematic, though, is we have seen this same exact trend play out in West Palm Beach, Miami Dade, and Orange County. This drop-off in Republican votes in these Democratic strongholds was enough of a change that it tipped Florida into Tate’s favor.”
“What about the other states?” Patty asked.
Neil nodded. “It’s the same in the other Democratic strongholds in the other four states. A significant drop-off of ten or more percentage points, resulting in just enough votes to tip the states in Tate’s favor.”
He sighed before adding, “I fear that the information about the postal workers intercepting mail-in and absentee ballots in these districts may have actually tilted the entire election in Tate’s favor, and furthermore, there were probably other efforts in place to depress Republican votes that we don’t know about yet. I say that because the number of people who voted Democratic in those districts didn’t increase; Democratic votes didn’t go up in any statistically significant amount from the three previous elections, so it’s not that the Democrats received more votes or people were dissatisfied with Sachs. We’re looking at a few hundred thousand votes in each of these states just disappearing.”
Turning to look out the window in her office, Patty tried to figure out what to do next. They’d known the Russians had interfered in the 2016 election with the dissemination of fake news articles through bots on social media. They’d tried to interfere in the 2018 election, along with China. Now it appeared a foreign power had actually succeeded in suppressing enough votes to change the outcome of a presidential election.
What to do with that information, though? she wondered.
“The President hasn’t conceded the election yet,” Neil said, interrupting her thoughts. “He shouldn’t. It’s clear that, between these terrorist attacks and the evidence we have of the Chinese paying off these postal workers, our election was compromised. This needs to be challenged.”
Patty looked at him for a moment, not sure what to say. She knew he was right; it did need to be challenged.
But how? she wondered. The Supreme Court has been wiped out.
The Sixth Circuit Court wouldn’t allow the President to delay the election to address these issues, so how could they be counted on to act now? She’d have to brainstorm this with the President’s team in a couple of hours when she was set to meet with the President, the AG, and the FBI Director.
*******
Washington, D.C.
White House
The morning was ominous. Dark storm clouds had rolled in during the evening, providing the city with an exceptional lightning show and sheets of freezing rain. The cold torrents of water had pelted the White House, as if sending an unspoken message of things to come. At approximately 11:37 p.m. the night before, the major news networks had called the election for Senator Marshall Tate. With the unprecedented electoral switch of Texas, along with a clean sweep of Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Florida, Senator Marshall Tate had won by an enormous landslide in the electoral college.
Senator Marshall Tate had given a victory speech, hailing the win as a step forward for the common man and a rejection of the policies that had harmed the American economy and failed to protect them from international terrorism.
While many people celebrated Tate’s win, the state GOPs and the RNC began to analyze the voting data. They quickly found the same thing that the FEC Chairman had discovered—some group had influenced the election just enough to tip it.
*******
The President sat in the briefing room with many of his key cabinet members and advisors, doing his best to digest the information as best he could. The FBI and DHS had just presented what they all believed was a clear-cut case of foreign manipulation of the vote. The FBI had concluded that the timing of the Supreme Court justices being poisoned was almost fortuitous because it had made it impossible for the President’s case for postponing the election to be heard. When you added in the effects of what the postal workers had done with the absentee and mail-in ballots, and the coordination of these terrorist attacks and massive misinformation campaigns—it was obviously enough to change the outcome of the election.
“This is unacceptable!” shouted the Secretary of Defense as he slammed his fist on the table. “We’ve got proof the Chinese financed these terrorists that attacked us yesterday, proof that they paid these postal workers to carry out this scheme, and proof that, for some unknown reason, someone in German intelligence provided the terrorists with the passports needed to gain entry into the US. Then you add in the shenanigans that took place yesterday with that ‘UN training exercise’ and the Russians weaponizing social media and their misinformation campaign, and I think we’ve been hoodwinked. A foreign power just stole our election.”
A look of sheer horror spread across the faces of the people at the table. The sudden realization of what had happened was finally setting in.
The president shook his head. “The facts are the facts. We have proof of what happened. The question we have to answer now is what can be done about it? The Sixth Circuit blocked our EO to postpone the election. The Supreme Court justices were assassinated, so they can’t hear the case, and Lord knows I can’t just appoint all nine justices overnight. So, what do we do?” he asked in exasperation.
“We take this to the D.C. Circuit,” Attorney General Malcolm Wright responded. “We need them to overturn the election and allow us to postpone it long enough to secure the voting process and know a vote can be held again without foreign interference.”
Rich Novella, the President’s Chief of Staff, snorted. “It’s not that simple,” he retorted. “The perception is going to be that we’re sore losers, that we can’t accept the outcome of the election, so we’re grasping at straws to find a way to say it was rigged.”
“Except in this case, it was rigged,” the Secretary of State shot back angrily.
The Director for National Intelligence, who had largely just stayed quiet through these cabinet briefings added, “I don’t care what the optics are. That’s all being ginned up by the media and this massive disinformation campaign the Russians are running. What we know are the facts.
“The facts show us that multiple foreign powers interfered in our election with the sole intention of replacing President Sachs with a candidate of their choosing. Clearly, this plan has been in the works for many years, and it’s been well coordinated and thought through, judging by the world’s reaction to last night’s results. Just look at how fast the global media and other governments have been dismissive of the intelligence we’ve been presenting to show that this election was being manipulated. You, Mr. President, need to take this bull by the horns and fix this. It’s not going to be popular, and you’re going to get a lot of pushback, but you’re the President. You can’t allow this to stand, or we won’t be able to say with a straight face that any of our future elections will ever be free and fair of foreign interference or manipulation.”
The others in the room sat there for a moment, listening to the sage wisdom of the elder intelligence pro. They nodded their heads in agreement and turned to look at the President, waiting to see what he’d say in response.
Lifting his chin up, the President made his decision. “OK. Then here is what we’re going to do. We’re going to file a brief with the D.C. Circuit, asking that they nullify yesterday
’s election and reinstate our executive order that moves the election to January fourth. All voters must either vote in person or request a poll worker to assist them in using the iVote app or in voting with an absentee ballot that will be counted at the time it’s taken. We have to have a way to secure the election and know that it has not been tampered with.”
*******
Three Hours Later
Washington, D.C.
White House
It was 4:47 p.m. Chief Justice Laurence Buckley of the D.C. Circuit looked at the Director of the FBI, the Director for National Intelligence, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the President in a state of shock at what he’d just been told.
Over the last thirty minutes, they had methodically laid out the evidence of the foreign manipulation and interference that had occurred up to that point. It all seemed surreal: a Chinese spy had facilitated the finances for a scheme involving postal workers, and Islamic extremists had infiltrated the country through financing from the Chinese and help from someone in the German BND.
Good Lord, I hope that was just some rogue element and not an official action, Justice Buckley thought.
He hadn’t been all that shocked to hear about the misinformation campaign that had been led by the Russians after the October 24 attacks, but when they’d explained about the poisoning of the Supreme Court justices in order to prevent them from hearing about the President’s executive order to delay the election, a chill had gone up his spine.
And now they want me to hear this case? he thought.
When he thought about the broader picture, Justice Buckley suddenly felt like he was going to be sick. The very fabric of the country was being torn apart right before his eyes, and he felt like there was almost no way to stop it from being ripped apart.
He turned to President Sachs. “Have you told Senator Tate or any other congressional leaders about this or what has taken place?”
“We’ve shared most of this with them when we filed our initial EO to postpone the election, but we haven’t shared what we just showed you yet. We only just pieced it all together in the last twenty-four hours,” Sachs responded.
The President paused for a moment before adding, “We haven’t conceded the election yet, either. We know what happened, but we needed to find out from you, legally, what you believe should be our next course of action.”
Sachs paused for a second. “Look, I know you and I have not always agreed on policy. However, right now, we’ve presented you with verifiable proof that our election was improperly influenced. Votes were actually stolen and suppressed. I can accept defeat at the polls when it’s been done fairly, but if we accept these fraudulent results now, I don’t know that we’ll ever be able to accept a future election as truly free and fair. Do you?”
Lifting his head up, Justice Buckley looked at the ceiling for a moment to think. He stood up but motioned for everyone to stay seated. He paced behind his chair briefly and then looked out the window.
Sachs was right that he didn’t agree with the President’s policies. On a personal level, he really didn’t care for him as a leader at all, and Buckley had definitely used his position in the past to block certain presidential directives that he’d detested. However, President Sachs did have a point about being able to trust future elections.
If I let this stand and do nothing, I will be culpable for aiding in this subversion of our democracy, he realized.
Justice Buckley took his seat again, then looked at the President. “I agree with you. This is unacceptable. There is no way we can say this was a free and fair election, considering the mountain of evidence that you have shown me. I want to have the video and transcripts of all the interrogations and the intelligence that you’ve collected on this up to this point. I need to independently review it myself and incorporate it into my judgment. This will need to be reviewed and ruled on by the full panel of the D.C. Circuit. I will issue a temporary injunction against the outcome of the election while we deliberate, which will halt the transition of power. We will endeavor to have a full decision reached by Friday at noon of this week.”
They all breathed a collective sigh of relief. The AG quickly asked, “Will you want us to present the case to the full panel?”
Buckley shook his head, “No. I don’t want to turn this into a circus. If I allow you to present information, I have to allow Senator Tate’s team to present information also. What I would like is to have access to everyone for questioning by the justices should they need clarification. We’ll start deliberations tomorrow morning. Frankly, having seen the information you’ve shown us up to this point, I don’t see how any of them could rule against us voiding the election and holding a new one on the previous date you had suggested. We may need to get Congress involved and get them to agree to the change also, but if they won’t go along, I believe the judiciary branch can force the issue based solely on the evidence you’ve provided of the interference.”
The group talked for a bit longer about some of the evidence; Justice Buckley inquired about the sources and methods with which they’d obtained the information, and where it had led them. The President also let him know that if the justices needed an elevation in security clearance to fully view the intelligence, he would make sure they had the access they needed.
*******
Later That Evening
Cleveland, Ohio
Senator Tate’s Election HQ
The day after the election was proving to be just as exasperating and frustrating as election day. This should have been a day filled with the joy and excitement of having just won the presidency; instead, it was an anxious day of frustration and waiting. Despite the enormous electoral victory, President Sachs had still not conceded the race. Rumors began to spread that he had not accepted the loss and was scheming to find a way to stay in power.
When the Chief Justice of the D.C. Circuit was spotted entering the White House, the rumors began to spread like wildfire. When Justice Buckley stayed at the White House for nearly three hours, the wait for information became almost unbearable.
“What the heck is going on? Why won’t he just concede and admit he lost?” Jerome Powell barked. He scowled angrily at the TV.
Senator Tate plopped down in the chair next to him. He just wanted to talk about anything else. “Have we determined who we want for some of our key cabinet positions yet?” he asked.
Jerome sighed and nodded. “We should seriously consider Jim Daoud for Treasury Secretary.” Then he passed Marshall a dossier on Daoud.
Jerome had built dossiers on the top five contenders for each of the cabinet positions they’d need to fill. His hope was that if he had these ready for Marshall the day after the election, they could get a jump on announcing their cabinet and get the transition rolling much quicker. They had a lot of work ahead of them.
“Isn’t Daoud the current CEO of UBS?”
“He is,” Jerome confirmed. “He’s done a good job there. He’s been one of Sachs’s most outspoken trade critics. We’ll need his expertise in reversing a lot of these sanctions and tariffs that are now in place with China and the EU. We have to get our economic house restored, and he’s the best guy to do it. He’s well respected in Europe and has a good working relationship with the Chinese.”
“Let me see the list of who you’re considering for some of the other positions.”
Jerome nodded and handed him the list he’d meticulously built over the last few months. Each candidate had been interviewed and vetted secretly before being added.
Marshall raised an eyebrow at the DHS choices. “You still have Riku Tanaka on the list?” he asked.
“He’s been a real asset to us during the campaign. Besides, his technological improvements and upgrades to the department’s IT infrastructure have been incredible. He may be a part of the Sachs administration, but you know as well as I do, he’s a progressive liberal. His personal interests are in bringing the government’s IT infrastructure into the twenty-first
century.”
“I don’t disagree with you there,” Marshall said. “I’d still like him to be a part of the administration. I’m just not sure he’s really suited for that type of leadership position. He doesn’t have any political experience, and frankly, he’s a bit of a nerd. No offense, but he doesn’t come across as the type of person we’ll need in that position—not with the type of initiatives we’re wanting to push through. Let’s either leave him in his current position or find a way to put him in charge of the entire government’s IT infrastructure.”
Jerome nodded. “I don’t disagree with your assessment,” he acknowledged. He turned a page. “I think we have some good choices for Secretary of Defense. What are your thoughts?”
Marshall found the names. A smile crept across his face. “I like the idea of Admiral Hill. He’s a real warrior’s warrior.”
“He’s no McElroy, but he did lead the bin Laden raid and SOCOM during the previous administration, so he’ll solidify our defense bona fides,” Jerome asserted. “He should also allay some of the concerns about you being too soft on defense.”
Just as they were about to go over a few more names, one of Tate’s senior advisors, Janey Roberts, walked in, madder than a hornet. “You won’t believe the call I just got!” she exclaimed.
Marshall tried to help calm her down. “Hey, Janey, it’ll be OK. We just won the election—even if that SOB Sachs won’t admit it.”
She softened her facial expression a bit. “Well, there’s a problem with that. I just got a phone call from our friend at DHS. He told me Chief Justice Laurence Buckley is going to issue a temporary injunction against the results, halting the transition while the full panel of the D.C. Circuit rules on whether we won legitimately.”
Marshall almost exploded. “What do you mean if we won it legitimately? He’s the one not accepting the results.”
