Page 160 of Enemy Within
“I did.”
“Mr. President, according to article two, clause two of the United States Constitution, the Treaty Clause empowers the president of the United States, andonlythe president of the United States, to chiefly negotiate agreements and treaties. In theUS vs Curtiss-Wrightverdict, Justice Sutherland wrote, and I quote, ‘…the presidentalonehas the power to speak or listen as a representative of the nation… The president is thesole organof the nation in its external relations and itssole representativewith foreign nations.’ The presidentalone.” Allen’s eyes flicked off the page, glaring down at him. “So, if you were not the president at this time, as you insist you were not, then what were you doing forging an alliance with the Russian president?”
Jack pressed both hands flat against the surface of the table, the polished oak and mahogany gleaming in the light of a hundred flashing camera bulbs. “Title three, chapter four of the United States Code also specifies that the president may delegate certain functions of their authority to another. It is under this specific law that I was able to open negotiations with President Puchkov.”
“Title three, chapter four. ‘The Duties of the President of the United States’, specifically the delegation of duties.” Allen seemed prepared for the answer. “You’re saying that you delegated some of your powers to then-Vice President Elizabeth Wall?”
“No. I’m saying President Wall delegated a specific set of powers tome. In connection with her government, and with her full blessing, I approached President Puchkov and asked for our two governments to work together.”
“President Spiers, you are saying that you did not violate the Logan Act?”
“No, I did not.” Jack leaned into the microphone, his voice booming around the room. “And I will remind the senator that the proper address is President Spiers-Reichenbach.”
Senator Allen’s eyebrows shot straight up. He set his paper down, smoothing it as his lips pursed. “Let’s talk about your marriage, President Spiers-Reichenbach. In the middle of this catastrophe, in the middle of what the White House describes as the ‘potential end of the world’, you found time to plan a wedding?”
Red-hot fury bubbled in his chest. His eyes narrowed, and his hands shook on the tabletop. His wedding ring gleamed. “Before entering what we both understood to be a mission with an almost certain probability of death, yes, we decided to marry.”
“This was a rash decision? Made in the heat of the moment?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Did you take time away from important military matters for your wedding, Mr. President? How much of an impact did this wedding have on critical operations?”
“I would say none. It was after a quick lunch with the captain. We were delayed transiting the Bering Strait. The entire ceremony took four minutes. If we had not chosen to get married, then lunch would probably have continued for another half hour.”
Murmurs from the gallery. The silent representatives and senators seated at the dais glared at the crowd.
Allen continued. “Are you aware, President Spiers-Reichenbach, that you are being accused of violating the Espionage Act? And if charges are brought against you, the punishment could be life in prison, or even death?”
“I am aware.” His voice shook. His eyes strayed again to his wedding ring.
“What do you have to say for yourself?”
Jack inhaled slowly, dragging air in through his nose. “Did I work with Russian President Sergey Puchkov? Yes. Did I bring him and other foreign nationals aboard a US nuclear submarine? Yes. Were foreign nationals exposed to classified information, including movements of our forces, plans and procedures, and sensitive military tactics? Yes. Were we ‘at war or in a time of conflict’? Yes.” He swallowed. Those were the high points. Conviction on any of those charges would mean multiple life sentences as a starting point. “But we werenotat war or in conflict with President Puchkov’s Russian insurgency. President Puchkov was, and remains, an ally.
“The world grows more complicated every day. People we thought we could trust turn out to be traitors. Nations that have long been in opposition to the United States became close friends. I had a choice to make: did I trust the people I allied with? Did I need their help to execute the mission? Senator, presidents shape the future every day with the choices we make. Sometimes we choose right. Sometimes we choose wrong. But in this situation, I firmly believe that I made the right choice. President Puchkov has proven his personal and political trustworthiness multiple times over.”
Jack licked his lips. In for a penny, in for a pound. “President Puchkov helped recover several of our assets when Madigan published Top Secret intelligence cables online, outing the identities of undercover intelligence officers operating in dangerous and risky environments. Where we were unable to recover all of our people, President Puchkov ordered his agents to assist. Because of his actions, five of our officers who would have been killed were saved. They were exfiltrated from their operations, flown to Moscow, and immediately transferred to US control.”
Gasps rose around the room, from the gallery and the dais. Anyone not on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence had never heard the details of the recovery of their intelligence officers overseas after Madigan’s leak. He and Sergey had vowed to keep it private. Eyes bulged almost out of their sockets. He could practically hear the headlines screaming across the internet, screeching over social media and blaring out of the TV.
“Prior to the coup, our two nations were developing joint plans to seek out and destroy Madigan after the sinking of theVinogradov, and as an extension of our already close cooperation in the Middle East, combating the remains of the Caliphate. President Puchkov has also spent time in the White House Situation Room. He was instrumental in saving American lives during the hijacking of oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz in early spring. He ordered a Russian destroyer to sail in-between a terrorist vessel and one of our aircraft carriers moored in Bahrain, shielding our forces from possible destruction.
“President Puchkov has also personally saved my life on multiple occasions. In Sochi, during the coup. In Russia, while we were transiting to the rendezvous, and in the Arctic. He has been, and always will be, a close friend to me and to the people of the United States. He has proven through his actions that he is an ally to us and a friend of the world.” Jack closed his eyes and took a steadying breath. “He was also with me when Madigan died.”
The chairwoman of the committee leaned forward, speaking over the sudden shouts and calls from the gallery. “Madigan’s death is not the subject of this investigation.”
Jack said nothing as the chairwoman called for order, over and over again. Some of the loudest cries since he’d returned had been questions about Madigan’s death. How had it happened? Who had killed him? What were the circumstances? When would the autopsy be released?
The whole federal government was tight-lipped about Madigan’s death. Who actually knew what he’d done? Not even Jack knew the answer to that. He’d testified in a closed hearing before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. But those walls were famously silent, and words spoken in those chambers often never saw the light of day.
Senator Allen chaired that committee. He’d led the questioning there, keeping Jack sweating for almost a full week as they picked through every single moment of what he’d done.
The chairwoman turned the floor back over to Senator Allen, once she wrangled control back from the gallery. Cameras flashed. Bulbs popped. The hum of video recorders filled the air. Jack stared at the maze of wires before his table, power cords to a hundred different video cameras, fifty different microphones.
“President Spiers-Reichenbach,” Allen began. “Whether or not your actions were legal or illegal—and that is something this committee will decide—you haveabsolutelyviolated the public’s trust in you. You bring up defenses to each of the possible charges levied against you, Mr. President, and the common theme running through them all seems to be that you think you can dictate what is true and what is not true at your whim. Whether youareorare notthe president. The presidency is an elected office, one that cannot be disposed of because you feel like taking a break. Whether youareorare notincapacitated, or just decided to play hooky. Whether youareorare notguilty of espionage because you happen to like the Russian president.”
Jack felt suddenly small, exposed in the glare of the cameras, like a fish alone in an empty bowl with a thousand eyeballs staring in at him.
