Chapter 282: Unprecedented History

The day before a riot escalated into an armed rebellion, the Senate of the United States hastily convened for an impeachment hearing presided over by the Chief Justice against the President. There were two charges in the impeachment brought by the House against President Radack: first, for endangering national security through failure to report a known threat, and second, for conspiracy to murder the former President.

A spirited debate unfolded between the defense team from the Presidential Mansion and Representative Griswold, the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee. After the process, 100 senators serving as judges were questioned one by one by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The senators could only answer ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty,’ and if two-thirds found the President guilty, then he would be successfully impeached, with the Vice President to take over.

Given that Radack was newly in office, having just been promoted from Vice President (and Senate President), his impeachment would see House Speaker Lancer assume the presidency — a seismic political upheaval that would bring the opposition Donkey Party into power. However, with the majority of Senate seats held by the ruling Elephant Party, the likelihood of Radack being successfully impeached seemed low in principle.

“Not guilty of the alleged murder of the former president!”

“Guilty of the failure to report a known threat!”

When the verdict was announced by the Chief Justice, the entire room was stunned. A single valid charge was enough to indicate President Radack’s successful impeachment! Representative Griswold allowed a flicker of satisfaction to cross his eyes. What seemed like a minor charge was now, bolstered by ample evidence, an indisputable fact, even for senators from Radack’s own party.

As Griswold exchanged a wordless glance with House Speaker Lancer, all fell into the meticulously crafted plan. Unbeknownst to them, they were about to face a new chaos. By the afternoon, a dejected President Radack had already left the Presidential Mansion, puzzled at how his party could have found him guilty. The suddenness of the events caught him completely unprepared.

As Lancer commenced transition meetings, Radack pondered where things went wrong while he was startled by Curtis and Caesar’s arrival. “They were controlled? You suspect those senators were manipulated?” asked Radack, to which Caesar affirmed, with no solid proof but noting that many of his party’s senators attended a tycoon’s birthday dinner where Griswold was present.

Radack learned the tycoon was a key member of the Dupont family, with extensive bipartisan connections perhaps involved in a conspiracy. Curtis pressed Radack not to give up, with his own legal charges looming with evidence of his association with Black Helmet Organization members. Caesar delineated that if the AI in Moscow could find direct proof of impeachment fraud, there might be a chance at recovery.

As the triad, bound by the Omnipotent Being affair, debated what steps to take, a hesistant Radack contemplated the unheard probability of a military coup under the United States’ system of divided powers. Yet, the general’s desire for political involvement and the potential evidence they could gather made it a real possibility — a first in United States’ history.