The Safe Presidential Transition Act

I propose new legislation to prevent flagrant abuse of the Unitary Presidential Power of the Incumbent when transitioning to the President-Elect.

Our Nation is built on Trust. We learned this the hard way with Donald J Trump. Constitutional Founders had assumed a certain level of decency and morality, decorum and knowledge for those that made it through the Public Election Gauntlet to this most powerful position. Even though they obviously contemplated the possibility of corruption or a populist autocrat, they failed to place enough guardrails to protect the Republic for the likes of Donald J Trump who, as I write this on Dec 23, 2020, has still not conceded defeat to Joe Biden who won quite decisively and even in a record fashion. Besides this bizarre, unprecedented unwillingness to admit loss, he has joined it with ever more far-reaching, treacherous and delusional machinations including up to “military intervention” in 5 states he didn’t like the CERTIFIED results in. On top of that, he has completely abused and turned inside out the intention of the Pardoning Power granted to Presidents. He has also changed critical, Cabinet-level positions haphazardly, vindictively or worse, conspiratorially, during the post-election phase and hindered Joe Biden’s transition team, America’s Transition Team, in the doing. It is a Clear and Present danger.

Donald Trump is by no means the first President to issue a flurry of pardons in his waning, lame duck days. In fact, almost every President does issue a number of controversial and not-so-controversial pardons during this period. He is the only one who has issued so many directly tied to his own alleged law breaking and corruption and even dangled these to silence testimony against him. However, I submit to you, taken with these other acts, verging on treason, bribery, sedition and insurrection, we must prevent all such possibilities in the future.

I hereby propose that:

Starting On Midnight, One Month Before the Election Day (The first Tuesday in October) and Up Until Noon, Inauguration Day, the following Presidential Actions shall be limited and governed strictly by Congress:

1. Issuing of Pardons and Commutations
2. Firing or Hiring of Cabinet Level Positions
3. Non-Emergency Military Campaigns or Adventures
4. Use of Emergency Powers
5. Mass-firing of government Employees
6. Executive Orders of All Sorts
7. Foreign Travel
8. Federal Executions

And then after Election Day (Midnight on Wednesday) these would be:

1. Continued campaigning or imploring the public
2. Holding non-celebratory rallies, organizing or encouraging large gatherings or protests
3. Control or influence over ascertainment

Such that for any of those things to be legally binding or allowed during the Safe Transition Period and Post-Election Period would require:

1. A majority approval in the House of Representatives and
2. A majority approval of the Senate

Reasoning

The Start of the period is set to one month Before the Election so that any such Unitary Pardons or Actions would become known to the Public in time for them to ascertain the character and intentions of the Incumbent BEFORE voting instead of after, when it’s too late.

The End of the period is the time at which the Next President assumes the office, be it the Incumbent or not, thus safeguarding the lame duck period from abuse.

The Congressional Approval is required so that the President retains the Constitutionally Granted powers but not unfettered or abused, and must convince Article I, the People’s Representatives, that the motivations are legitimate and just and in the Interest of the American People.

This is necessary because an entirely Trust-based system is way too vulnerable to an unethical, immoral or unhinged Executive.

Penalties

Abrogations of these rules, would necessitate further diminished Presidential protections to the point where we must insist on the People’s right to have the Executive indicted and arrested during this lame duck period as any other serious lawbreaker would be. Such penalties would be decided by Congress.