May 23, 2007
WorldNetDaily
Jerome Corsi
President Bush, without so much as issuing a press statement,
on May 9 signed a directive that granted near dictatorial
powers to the office of the president in the event of a national
emergency declared by the president.
The "National Security and Homeland Security Presidential
Directive," with the dual designation of NSPD-51, as a
National Security Presidential Directive, and HSPD-20, as a
Homeland Security Presidential Directive, establishes under
the office of president a new National Continuity Coordinator.
That job, as the document describes, is to make plans for "National
Essential Functions" of all federal, state, local, territorial,
and tribal governments, as well as private sector organizations
to continue functioning under the president's directives in
the event of a national emergency.
The directive loosely defines "catastrophic emergency" as "any
incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary
levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting
the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy,
or government functions."
When the president determines a catastrophic emergency has
occurred, the president can take over all government functions
and direct all private sector activities to ensure we will
emerge from the emergency with an "enduring constitutional
government."
Translated into layman's terms, when the president determines
a national emergency has occurred, the president can declare
to the office of the presidency powers usually assumed by dictators
to direct any and all government and business activities until
the emergency is declared over.
Ironically, the directive sees no contradiction in the assumption
of dictatorial powers by the president with the goal of maintaining
constitutional continuity through an emergency.
The directive specifies that the assistant to the president
for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism will be designated
as the National Continuity Coordinator.
Further established is a Continuity Policy Coordination Committee,
chaired by a senior director from the Homeland Security Council
staff, designated by the National Continuity Coordinator, to
be "the main day-to-day forum for such policy coordination."
Currently, the assistant to the president for Homeland Security
and Counterterrorism is Frances Fragos Townsend.
Townsend spent 13 years at the Justice Department before moving
to the U.S. Coast Guard where she served as assistant commandant
for intelligence.
She is a White House staff member in the executive office
of the president who also chairs the Homeland Security Council,
which as a counterpart to the National Security Council reports
directly to the president.
The directive issued May 9 makes no attempt to reconcile the
powers created there for the National Continuity Coordinator
with the National Emergency Act. As specified by U.S. Code
Title 50, Chapter 34, Subchapter II, Section 1621, the National
Emergency Act allows that the president may declare a national
emergency but requires that such proclamation "shall immediately
be transmitted to the Congress and published in the Federal
Register."
A Congressional Research Service study notes that under the
National Emergency Act, the president "may seize property,
organize and control the means of production, seize commodities,
assign military forces abroad, institute martial law, seize
and control all transportation and communication, regulate
the operation of private enterprise, restrict travel, and,
in a variety of ways, control the lives of United States citizens."
The CRS study notes that the National Emergency Act sets up
congress as a balance empowered to "modify, rescind, or
render dormant such delegated emergency authority," if
Congress believes the president has acted inappropriately.
NSPD-51/ HSPD-20 appears to supersede the National Emergency
Act by creating the new position of National Continuity Coordinator
without any specific act of Congress authorizing the position.
NSPD-51/ HSPD-20 also makes no reference whatsoever to Congress.
The language of the May 9 directive appears to negate any a
requirement that the president submit to Congress a determination
that a national emergency exists, suggesting instead that the
powers of the executive order can be implemented without any
congressional approval or oversight.
Homeland Security spokesperson Russ Knocke affirmed that the
Homeland Security Department will be implementing the requirements
of NSPD-51/ HSPD-20 under Townsend's direction.
The White House had no comment.
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