THERE WAS A large crowd outside the bronze doors of the north entrance to the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Everyone in the crowd was waiting to get further up in the slow moving line going through security before getting to Senate Committee Room 226. The line included reporters, still photographers, television cameramen, and there were members of the government, and some from the general public, and they were all there to see the committee’s single witness for the day: former Acting Secretary and current Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Angus Glass.
All the commotion and crowds and security caused the hearings to be delayed forty-five minutes beyond the scheduled beginning of the session that had been planned for 10:00 a.m. The gavel finally sounded and the Chairman of the Senate-Select Committee on the Surviving Executive Branch of the United States, Senator Donald Simmons called the Hearing Room to order and he went through the customary formalities. He then welcomed the witness, telling Assistant Secretary Glass how courageous and patriotic he was to “be here without protest” in cooperation with the committee and agreeing to testify even though the President had invoked Executive Privilege to prevent such testimony.
After the Chairman’s lauding of Angus Glass’s courage and patriotism, Chairman Simmons asked him, “Assistant Secretary Glass, would you rise, please?”
A very nervous Angus Glass stood up. He always looked nervous under the most normal circumstances but this time there was some excuse for his nervousness as he stood before the Chairman and seventeen other sitting senators who faced him at their greatly elevated quarter-moon shaped rostrum. Angus Glass was looking at them as he stood in front of the chair provided for him at a green-clothed table accompanied by three lawyers on the chairs to his sides. Added to all of that, he was well aware there was a large audience sitting behind him and beyond all that were millions of viewers and listeners throughout the country watching and hearing it all on television.
The Chairman cleared his throat and asked, “Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you will present before this Senate-Select Committee will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”
“Yes, Sir, Mr. Chairman.”
“You may be seated.”
Angus Glass looked uneasily to either side with a slight and hesitant smile and sat down in front of the desk microphone facing him.
Chairman Simmons continued, “Assistant Secretary Glass, we welcome you here for this most important oversight hearing. We note some of your recent comments showing your great concern over your experiences at what is called Sebotus Headquarters during the recent crisis that befell the nation so critically. Your comments have been described in many media in the last number of days and your forthrightness has received the attention of our committee. We welcome your willingness to testify and I want you to know that we are gratefully aware of the hardship placed on you due to the general attitude of the White House regarding these procedures. We look forward to your testimony.
“Do you have an Opening Statement?” he asked although the Chairman already knew that Angus Glass had an opening statement because the Chairman had a transcript of it in front of him as well as knowing that copies had already been placed in front of the seventeen other senators seated at the rostrum.
“Yes, Mister Chairman,” Angus Glass answered and he started reading. “I would like to make an opening statement to the distinguished members of this Senate-Select Committee.”
“The floor is yours.”
“Thank you, Mister Chairman,” he ad-libbed at the unexpected four-word interruption and then he went back to his reading. “Following the attacks of July the 16th I reported to the headquarters of the Surviving Executive Branch of the United States, referred to here as Sebotus. I was expected to report there in case of a declared national emergency. That contingency assignment was relayed to me by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under the direction of the President of the United States shortly after I became Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. On July the 16th when I heard of the emergency I immediately went to the Pentagon where I was taken by helicopter to Sebotus Headquarters in Virginia. As previously agreed, I will be glad to give the exact location in closed hearings.”
Angus Glass then went on to give an oral tour of the Sebotus facilities in a successful attempt to dazzle the senators with his knowledge of the place they had never seen and had no familiarity of it prior to the last few days of leaked reports in the media. Then he got to the heart of his prepared testimony that went beyond dazzling:
“These facts in my following testimony are not easy for me to expose but I find I must because they were in such contradiction to anything I would have expected of the country I love, and whose freedoms were guaranteed by our most sacred documents, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.” The lawyer to his immediate left who was very fat and had a large horizontally-shaped face, nodded in brisk motions with his two lips joined tightly as one, signifying he had probably written that sentence.
“There was only one person present at Sebotus Headquarters who was part of the line of succession to the Presidency. That was Secretary of Commerce Matthew Desmond. The night he arrived, both Eli Jared and Admiral Keith Kaylin hurriedly met with him. I had been present and alone with Mr. Jared when the announcement was made that Secretary Desmond was on the premises. It did not seem to me that Mr. Jared was particularly glad when he heard that announcement, although I do not recall his precise words. I do remember that Mr. Jared quickly interrupted our meeting to get to the Secretary. As I understand it, instead of taking directives from Secretary Desmond, Mr. Jared and Admiral Kaylin brought him to the Sebotus Hospital where he stayed overnight. I do not know what went on there but I do know the following morning the members of Sebotus and some of the top staff attended a meeting in which we were all given our assignments. Secretary Desmond had entered the meeting looking dazed and he was supported on the arm of Admiral Keith Kaylin. The assignments were announced and that was when I was about to be told that I was named on the President’s list to be Acting Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. The meeting had been turned over to Secretary Desmond who appeared to be under the influence of either a narcotic or something of which I am not aware. He also appeared to be frightened. He immediately announced that he had been born in Hamilton, Bermuda of British parents and then we were told that since he was not born in the United States, he could not be Acting President of the United States. This was accepted by the participants at the table although no one examined any credentials if there were any. It was then announced that President Wadsworth had ordered that should no one be present in the line of succession, Eli Jared was his appointed Acting President of the United States. Remember that Eli Jared was not even a current member of the United States Government. I am not suggesting that this was not legal, but it was a surprising appointment.
“In my view, Mr. Jared then ran events, not as Acting President but more like an acting dictator, and I give the following as evidence and backup to my claim:
“Before enacting his secret plans—his grand design—he never consulted with the cabinet members. As example, I had no idea what was going on.
“When seven others tried to get onto the facility grounds he had them killed by allowing, and I believe directing Admiral Kaylin, to flick a button that collapsed the earth under them and bury them. The earth swallowed them up and I am sure their bodies—their corpses—all of them, seven of them—are still underground. No taking of prisoners, no trials; their deaths simply ordered by Eli Jared. When I asked him if Acting Attorney General Jonathan Hynd had been consulted or even notified, he responded proudly that he never told the Attorney General.
“When I mentioned to him the importance of the Geneva Conventions and the treatment of the enemy mandated by the Geneva Conventions, he belittled those international agreements and proceeded to give me a speech in which Mister Jared belittled HUD, the Department of Housing and Urban Development. As if to emphasize his authority, I was never given an assistant or even a secretary for the entire time of the crisis although there were any number of assistants and secretaries available.
“He went on to threaten that he would put me in shackles and even made remarks about executing me. Perhaps he meant that part as a joke but it was not very funny, particularly in light of the executions he had ordered of the seven men who had come to the exterior of the headquarters and, as I said, whose bodies are still in the ground there. This was, in my view, the orders of a dictator, not an Acting President of the United States of America.
“Mr. Jared also lectured me on the value of war, going through a list of wars whose deaths and destruction he totally ignored. He seemed to take particular delight in war. He knew, full well, and said so, that I was a philosophical pacifist.
“He was a very frightening figure. I believe I am fortunate—and it was pure luck—to have survived those ten days.
“For the purpose of brevity I am leaving a number of events and a number of details out of this summary but, at request, I would be glad to fill in anything the Chairman or distinguished senators would like to know.
“I am testifying, Mr. Chairman, in the hope that other witnesses will come forward. If they will, I believe my statements will be verified and, perhaps, filled in by others who witnessed things I did not see. I hope they will testify, but if this table for witnesses is any indication, then I am not encouraged. There seems to be an invisibility of other witnesses here.
“That, too, is brought about by the dictatorship, as I would call it, that overrode the Constitution during those ten days and has spread even to these days although the crisis is over. Executive Privilege is the excuse and justification given by Eli Jared and now by President Wadsworth to keep the workings of the executive beyond your knowledge and beyond the knowledge of the people of the United States.
“Finally, Mr. Chairman, I have disregarded Executive Privilege and my order to obey it because of my belief in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States as I stated to you earlier, and also because of my belief in the Geneva Conventions and my belief in the people’s right to know.
“I look forward to working with the committee closely in the weeks ahead, listening to your concerns and joining together to protect the security of the American people.
“Thank you, Mister Chairman.”
Chairman Simmons nodded. “Thank you very much, Assistant Secretary Glass.”
Senator McManus grabbed his desk microphone. “Mister Chairman?”
“Senator McManus?”
“I would ask consent that the Assistant Secretary’s submitted testimony, which we all received, and the testimony he actually delivered here today both be in the record because there are some differences.”
“Without objection, the written testimony previously submitted as well as the delivered testimony will both be made a part of the record. I made a note of that to myself but, in any event, they will be made a part of the record.
“The chair would now like to yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts. Mr. Niles?”
“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. May I first join with the Chairman in congratulating you for being here, Mr. Secretary, and I will also add my congratulations for your forthright statement in which you summarized those things that were done in secret. I recognize, and I’m sure that you recognize, there were undoubtedly valid security considerations in the secret headquarters but it does seem, from all you witnessed and testified, that the kind of conduct that was invoked at the secret headquarters was not worthy of our leaders. Is that your opinion as well?”
“Yes, sir. That is my opinion as well.”
“Good. Now let me get to some of the specifics that cause me great concern about the conduct of the leadership you mentioned in your statement. You mentioned that Eli Jared and Admiral Kaylin brought Secretary Desmond to the hospital there at the headquarters. Were you, as a member of Sebotus, also brought to the hospital when you arrived there?”
“No, sir.”
“How about Jared himself, Kaylin himself?”
“I don’t believe so. I don’t know about Admiral Kaylin but I was with Mr. Jared very shortly after he arrived. There was no trip to have him checked up at the hospital of which I’m aware.”
“Anyone? Anyone brought to the hospital when they arrived? Is this some sort of standard or normal procedure?”
“Not to my knowledge, Senator. As I said, I was not brought to the hospital and I didn’t hear of anyone else brought there, other than Secretary Desmond.”
“So would it be accurate to say that Secretary Desmond was the only one brought to the hospital on entrance to the headquarters, to the best of your knowledge?”
“Yes, Senator. That would be accurate.”
“Was something wrong with him? Did he have some disease? Did he complain about some ailment of some sort that he wanted treated?”
“Was there a mental condition?”
“Senator, I think we all had some mental condition. I certainly did after the shock of what happened in the country that day and my own experience of being helicoptered to the headquarters. I was frightened. I suppose anyone could say that I had a mental condition.”
There was some laughter in the chamber, loudest of which was the fat lawyer to Angus Glass’s left. The two other two lawyers laughed, too, but not quite as loud, and the senator smiled. “I suppose I did, too, Mr. Glass, when I learned what was happening. You’re quite right. We all did. If we didn’t have a mental condition, then something would really be wrong with us worthy of a hospital visit.” Again there was laughter, lighter than before, but the fat lawyer with the horizontal face appeared to be in near hysteria, probably to endear himself to Senator Niles. “Now, Mr. Glass, you mentioned quite accurately that Secretary Desmond was apparently the only one present who was in the line of succession to the presidency. What kept him from being the Acting President when the whereabouts of President Wadsworth were unknown?”
“I can only tell you what I just said.”
“Say it clearly, Mr. Secretary, so we all understand it fully.”
“When he got out of the hospital the following morning, he came in the meeting room to hear the positions all of us would hold. As I mentioned in my statement, Senator, Desmond came in on the arm of Admiral Kaylin looking ‘out-of-it’ if I can describe him that way. When he was called on he said that he was born in Bermuda. The next thing I knew Eli Jared was named as Acting President. No one asked for any evidence or proof or anything about Secretary Desmond’s birthplace. It was just accepted, even though it meant he couldn’t be president.”
“Was he under a narcotic?”
“Yes, sir, Admiral Kaylin admitted it. He said that Secretary Desmond was under sedation.”
“And who was it that appointed Eli Jared as Acting President?”
“Apparently President Wadsworth had put his name on the list for the secret government and the person who told us all the appointments including mine was Elizabeth Hadley. She sort of ran things until Jared took over. I don’t know her official title. She just ran things when we got there.”
“You testified that even you, as a cabinet member in the emergency government, were not consulted about Eli Jared’s plan that you called ‘the great design.’ Is that correct?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Were any members of the cabinet consulted?”
“I don’t know of any. There was no cabinet meeting called. He certainly appeared to be acting alone.”
“And he belittled Housing and Urban Development?”
“Yes, Senator, he did. And he belittled my education.”
“Why don’t you tell us about your education.”
“I graduated from U.C.L.A. with top honors, receiving my M.B.A. degree, and then I started in government as a GS-12 right away. That was in the Department of Education, and then I was transferred to Housing and Urban Development and I advanced all the way to be an Assistant Secretary. Then, as you know, I was recommended by Secretary Lawrence to the President to be the Acting Secretary of Housing and Urban Development should there be a national emergency. The President endorsed that recommendation and then I did become Acting Secretary.”
“There’s nothing there to belittle.”
“Thank you, Senator.”
“And how did he belittle the department itself? HUD, I mean.”
“He laughed at it. He acted as though it was an unimportant department. I don’t recall the exact words but he belittled the fact that I was Acting Secretary and ridiculed the department as meaningless.”
“Well, well. I wonder if he told LBJ that.”
“Who, sir?”
“Lyndon Baines Johnson. HUD was part of his Great Society.”
“Oh, yes, Senator. I do know that.”
“And you were given no staff at all, no assistant at the secret government?”
“No one, Senator. I had an office with no one but myself.”
“Did everyone else in a cabinet position have an assistant?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What did he tell you about wars? You mentioned that he advocated them.”
“He did. He went through a whole list to convince me that war was right.”
“And he said you should be shackled?”
“He did.”
“And executed?”
“Yes, sir. At a later time he again said he would kill me. Then he said he would put me in prison.”
“Was there a prison in the headquarters?”
“Yes, sir.”
“How did you feel about all this? When he threatened to kill you, how did you react?”
“I was scared, sir.”
“That will be all, Mr. Glass. Again, let me thank you for your assistance here and for your cooperation, and if I may add, for your courage and sense of morality.”
Chairman Simmons nodded and said, “The Chair will yield to the gentleman from Utah. Mr. Adamy?”
“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Secretary, I do not associate myself with the remarks and praise given to you by our distinguished Chairman or the distinguished senator from Massachusetts, nor, I am sure, do I represent the views held by the majority of my colleagues here on the Senate-Select Committee. As one of the minority I am perplexed by your refusal to abide by the wishes of both the former Acting President Eli Jared and the President of the United States James Wadsworth. To disregard Executive Privilege is a very serious thing, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Senator, it is.”
“Why did you go against their directives?”
“It’s what I said before, Senator: The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the people’s right to know. I have always been opposed to Executive Privilege because I believe it is generally used by presidents to hide facts from the people.”
“I’m perplexed. You state that you believe in the United States Constitution. Can I then assume that you believe in the equality of the branches of government?”
“Yes, sir. I certainly do.”
“Does the congress have the right to investigate the president?”
“Absolutely, Senator.”
“I agree. Does the president have the right to investigate the congress?”
There was silence. Then he said, “I don’t know what you mean by that, Senator.”
“Just what I asked. Let me repeat the question. Does the president have the right to investigate the congress, Mr. Glass?”
“I would guess so.”
“So if the president ordered an investigation about some policy of this body, it would be legal?”
The lawyer to the immediate right of Angus Glass whispered something to him and Angus Glass nodded. “I’m not a lawyer, sir.”
“No, but your lawyer is a lawyer and I believe he just advised you to evade the question by telling us you’re not a lawyer. I’m asking your opinion. It doesn’t have to be based on legal precedent. Do you think that, as a senator, my Chief of Staff should have to testify to the president and to others at the White House, what my deputy and I talked about in the privacy of my office, and what advice he gave me?”
“I don’t know, sir. I have never worked for a senator.”
“Should my deputy be required to tell the president what we discussed and, for that matter, should I request no confidential advice or private conversations with my advisors because they could be brought before White House officials for testimony?”
“It is hard for me to place myself in your position, Senator.”
“What I’m getting at, Mr. Glass, is that even though I am a member of the Congress, I believe in the right of presidents to maintain Executive Privilege for his staff, and this president, like so many of his predecessors, does not want to establish the precedent of disregarding it. You are being asked to testify about events while you were on Acting President Jared’s staff. And there is no question that under the exceptional circumstances, you were on the staff—a very small select staff—of the Acting President. He did not have access to the normal staff provided to a president. This, then, automatically becomes a question of Executive Privilege. That seems reasonable to me. I would think the use of Executive Privilege should be maintained. I happen to be one senator who believes in the sanctity of Executive Privilege for a president.”
Chairman Simmons interrupted with a smile. “Could that be because the distinguished Senator from Utah is planning on running for the office of the presidency?”
There was laughter from the audience in the chamber. The three lawyers of Angus Glass were shaking with laughter.
Senator Adamy continued. “Mr. Glass, if Executive Privilege is no longer observed, any person serving on a future president’s staff would be wise to hire a lawyer to come along with him to the White House every day and sit in private meetings between that advisor and the president to make sure that the advisor’s candid advice to the president is acceptable to all of us in the Congress at some later date. In short, if you were his advisor, your advice could not be candid and the president could never seek candid advice from any advisors. I am trying to make this clear to you. In fact, the president could never reveal his own thoughts to you or any other advisor before enacting them, no matter how much he wanted your advice or their advice. Therefore, the very things you are complaining about Acting President Eli Jared not discussing with you during those ten days in Sebotus, would preclude any future president from discussing with you or any of his advisors—if you eliminated his ability to invoke Executive Privilege.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Mr. Glass, I want to know how you would answer that.”
The lawyer with the horizontally shaped face leaned over to Angus Glass and whispered something to him.
Then Angus Glass answered Senator Adamy. “I believe in the people’s right to know, Senator.”
“I know you do. Everything? The people have the right to know everything?”
Angus Glass nodded.
“I didn’t hear you, Mr. Glass. My hearing isn’t what it used to be. Just use the microphone there.”
“Everything.”
“Let’s assume the president feels using a nuclear bomb on an enemy state is the only way to bring about what he believes must be achieved for the good of the nation and the world. Harry Truman went through that, and so did Eli Jared. But, unlike President Truman and Acting President Jared, imagine that a future president isn’t sure that it must be done and not sure if there might be other options he hasn’t considered. And what if he wants to know what you and other advisors think about his belief that a nuclear bomb is the best course. He couldn’t ask you. You would be up before a committee like this one testifying about exactly what the president was considering.
“All of us who are not presidents speak candidly to others we trust about all kinds of things. I’m sure you speak candidly to close friends and associates—and advisors. Wouldn’t that be a terrible right to take away from anyone—particularly from presidents?”
That large lawyer leaned over again and there was a whispering session between him and Angus Glass before Angus Glass answered, “Senator, I believe I told you what I believe.”
“Mr. Glass, I have talked with others—friends of mine for years—who were in Sebotus Headquarters for those same ten days you were there. They did not speak to me for the record. I was simply so glad they were alright and we were together because of our friendship. Four of them. Not a great number. But to a man and woman they spoke to me about Eli Jared as though he were a God. They said he had a quality that made them know they would survive and, in fact, that the country would survive. They said he was a born leader and that he led, and they were eager to follow. They said he kept their spirits up in that place and that they would have fallen apart without him. It is such a contrast to your testimony. I have known Eli Jared for decades. He is a prince of a man. Through the years, presidents of both parties have embraced him. There is an old test of how a person feels about others. I’m sure you heard it. If you were in a foxhole during combat, who would you like to have by your side? Although it is far-fetched to think you have ever been in a foxhole, Mr. Glass, but if you were, you might give some thought to who you would choose to give the leadership you would need. Someone like Eli Jared—or someone like you?”
Without hesitation he answered, “Someone like me, Senator.”
“Mr. Glass, you know that Eli Jared is well known for his sense of humor, don’t you?”
“No, sir, I don’t. I suppose some people think he’s funny. I don’t.”
“Well, you’ve missed something. But don’t you think that perhaps when he threatened you with shackles, prison and execution that maybe he wasn’t planning on really doing those things? You even mentioned that maybe it was a joke about the execution.”
“I think he was planning on doing those things. Very definitely he was thinking of putting me in prison.”
“And executing you, too?”
“Very likely.”
“Well, then, why didn’t he?”
“He probably would have if the crisis didn’t end when it did. There might not have been time the way things worked out.”
“I see. Let me ask you something that you didn’t mention. I want to do that since I noticed that you said, and I’m quoting from your written statement, and I think you said this line exactly the same way when you gave your oral presentation, ‘For the purpose of brevity I am leaving a number of events and a number of details out of this summary but, at request, I would be glad to fill in anything the Chairman or distinguished senators would like to know.’ Is that correct?”
“Yes, Senator.”
“Good. There are some things I would like to know. Did you speak to Secretary Desmond after that meeting in which he said he was born in Bermuda?”
“Did you find him to be acting normal?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Did he promise you anything if he should be found to be qualified for the presidency—if he had been born in the United States? I realize his place of birth was somewhat unknown to you at the time.”
“Promise me anything?”
“Yes. A position in his administration or anything like that. Promise you anything. You know what that means.”
“No, sir.”
“How about the Vice Presidency?”
“No, sir.”
“Are you sure? You took an oath here.”
“He mentioned it. But I don’t recall him using the word ‘promise.’”
“I see. Then you had no ambition to become the Vice President? I mean there was no hint of that either from you or from him.”
“That’s correct, sir.”
“You know now, Mr. Glass, that indeed Secretary Desmond was born in Hamilton, Bermuda, just as he said?”
“Yes, sir. I realize that has now been verified. But it wasn’t then.”
“I understand. In that case, since you know that now, let me get to a different line of questioning.”
Angus Glass looked somewhat relieved but any calmness and lack of nervousness he acquired during his earlier reading of his statement and by the earlier questioning of Senator Niles was totally gone.
“Your statement was interesting to me about the seven people who tried to get into the headquarters.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Is it possible—even probable—that they were revolutionaries and the President did what he had to do?”
“There is no way I could know or, I would guess, anyone could know.”
“You think Acting President Jared should have consulted with the Attorney General while they were trying to get in?”
“Yes, sir. Before ordering their murders.”
“Didn’t you know we were at war? Didn’t you know that our own nation had become a battlefield in the war, and Sebotus was a likely target of the enemy?”
“I believe in the Geneva Conventions.”
“Yes. I think you mentioned that. Do you believe attorneys with the International Court of Justice should accompany our troops, and our Commander in Chief should be accompanied by the Attorney General at a time of war?”
“I would not be opposed to that, Senator.”
“Do you think Attorney General Hynd would agree with you?”
“I don’t know him well enough to answer that, sir.”
“Do you think the American people would agree with you?”
“I don’t know all of them, sir.”
There was some laughter in the chamber, but again no one laughed harder and longer than the fat lawyer with the horizontally shaped face.
Senator Adamy asked, “Do you think the millions of those who lost loved ones during this war would agree with you?”
“I don’t know.”
There was no laughter.
“Very well. Mr. Glass, I noticed you frequently used the term of ‘a dictatorship’ that you say was present at Sebotus Headquarters.”
“That’s right, sir.”
“Mr. Glass, are you writing a book about your experiences there?”
There was a pause. “I’m thinking about it.”
“I’m thinking about it, Senator.”
“Do you have a publisher?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“I’ve been talking around. More accurately, others have been talking around for me.”
“I heard on Channel 7 last night that you have a publisher.”
“I really don’t know.”
“May I remind you that you took an oath to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? I’m sure you are aware that valid accusations of perjury have often followed testimony to committees of the congress. Let me ask the question again and if you request it, I will recommend the striking of your first answer. Do you have a publisher?”
This question called for another whispering conversation between Angus Glass and the fat lawyer. Angus Glass nodded and then answered Senator Adamy with, “If they signed the contract.”
“You don’t know if they signed the contract?”
“I really don’t know.”
“Did you sign it?”
The lawyer nodded, the nod was seen through Angus Glass’s peripheral vision and then Angus Glass answered, “Yes, Senator.”
“Did you write the contract or did the publisher write the contract?”
“They did.”
“Did you change it?”
“No, Senator.”
“What’s the title?”
“The Secret U.S. Dictatorship.”
“I have no more questions.”