COVID-19, 'the Russia Threat', and the Possible Suspension of the 2020 Presidential Election

 

A Nightmare Scenario That Congress, News Outlets, Pundits
and Every American Voter Should Consider and Discuss

By Gary Glennell Toms

During the final months of 2019, I contacted David H. Gans, Director of the Human Rights, Civil Rights & Citizenship Program at the Constitutional Accountability Center in Washington, D.C. Mr. Gans is considered to be one of the leading constitutional litigators and scholars in the country. I invited him to appear on "The G-Man Interviews" to present and discuss a terribly frightening and troubling scenario I came up with. For whatever reason, Gans never responded. Prior to contacting Gans, I presented the scenario to a renowned and widely-published author/historian and a professor emeritus at Stony Brook University, Dr. Steven Jonas, who also serves as a contributing writer for this independent news and information platform. To say he was concerned would be an understatement. "G-Man! What you propose is extremely scary..... and very possible! It's something that must be discussed among members of Congress, the media and voters, effective immediately." Yes, he thought it was that serious.

Fact: In the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election, the Mueller Report and a number of news outlets revealed how vulnerable U.S. voting machines are to hacking and/or manipulation. Moreover, officials from the Department of Homeland Security have issued dire warnings during Congressional testimonies indicating the U.S. is not adequately prepared to deal with potential cyber-attacks launched during the 2020 presidential election. FBI director Christopher Wray provided a similar assessment.

The Scenario: In September of 2020, during a 9 p.m. telecast to the nation, Donald Trump announces the following: "My fellow Americans: As a result of the devastating impact COVID-19 has had on our country over the last six months, and because of extremely serious concerns expressed by the Departments of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security, the CDC, the Department of Justice, members of Congress and election board officials, and because there is strong evidence to suggest the integrity and security of the voting process will be compromised, I will be signing an Executive Order indefinitely suspending the 2020 presidential election. My first responsibility as President of the United States is to protect the citizens of this great country, and I will be signing the order, effective immediately, in the interest of the health and national security of the American people." 

Dr. Jonas went on to note the following: "First, this order would immediately be challenged by a variety of authorities, including the House of Representatives,  several state governments, and a broad array of private organizations like the American Constitution Society and the American Civil Liberties Union. Given the time-factor, they’d likely appeal directly to the Supreme Court. However, given the Republican majority on the Court, the decision of the judges would be thoroughly unpredictable. Secondly, the grand contradiction is that if the epidemic reached such massive proportions that something like this could be contemplated, it did so precisely because of what the Trump administration did and did not do at the outset of the outbreak, using tried and true public health measures, that led to this national catastrophe of unprecedented proportions. Ultimately, the Trump administration could use this disaster of its own making to serve its electoral purposes, especially because the national polls, at this point, indicate Trump is far behind the top Democratic candidates heading into the election."

While investigating whether President Trump would have the legal authority to take such drastic measures, I discovered a platform called Quora. According to the website, "It's a place to gain and share knowledge. It's a platform to ask questions and connect with people who contribute unique insights and quality answers." A number of U.S. Constitution experts, historians, law students and scholars posted detailed explanations of why it would be virtually impossible and considered treasonous for any president to try and cancel or suspend a presidential election, but there has been a significant and potentially life-changing development in America since those explanations were posted: COVID-19.

Even though Department of Homeland Security and F.B.I. officials continue to acknowledge there's a strong possibility the 2020 elections will be compromised in some way, it's highly unlikely any of the aforementioned would suggest President Trump or members of Congress intervene and determine if the elections should be cancelled or suspended. However, COVID-19 changes everything. Center for Disease Control and Prevention officials have publicly stated in press conferences that the rate of infection will spread and that those most vulnerable, namely seniors and people with serious medical conditions, are likely to die. Physicians have appeared on cable and network news outlets proclaiming a COVID-19 vaccine could be a year away. Moreover, other medical experts have noted even if a vaccine is developed sooner than expected, determining its effectiveness will not be immediate. In the interim, the number of infections in the U.S. could quickly rival or surpass those in other countries. "If that happens, G-Man, the country would be on a high state of alert and millions of people would probably be forced to shelter in place," said a U.S. Marine veteran who is deeply concerned after reports that a soldier in South Korea tested positive for the virus. If the situation reaches critical mass and an order is issued for Americans to shelter in place to try and halt the rate of infections, this country and many of the guidelines and principles by which we live would change in order to protect the health and safety of the public and country, including casting ballots. Recent protocols implemented in Israel serve as confirmation.

Many will read this commentary and proclaim, "We survived the Civil War! We survived the racial turmoil of the civil rights period! We survived the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.! We survived terrorist attacks and an unprecedented number of mass shootings! We're America, and we'll survive this!" In the deepest regions of my heart, I believe that, too. Still, I realize that COVID-19 is taking us into uncharted territory, which could have a monumental impact on what many consider to be the most important election of our lifetime.