The publication of a series of secret documents has provided indications about the White House's plans to deal with an apocalyptic scenario (for example, due to a nuclear attack), and detailed the powers that the president would have in these situations.
Part of the content of these documents (the rest is still classified as confidential) was released by The New York Times, which had access through the Brennan Center for Justice.
It is the first time they have published after the changes approved by then President George W. Bush as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
The exterior of the White House, in May 2022. Bloomberg/Getty Images
Until now, only details of the plan, developed during the Cold War, were known.
No president has reported on the directives.
The published files show that Bush focused on passing a law so that the president had control or could turn off communications systems, something that, according to the newspaper, could be raised as a result of the increase in Internet use in the 2000s.
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One of the files obtained by the Brennan Center for Justice, from the Bush presidential library, mentions that the Justice Department was reviewing a bill in 2008 in light of a recent Supreme Court opinion, which is not specified. .
During that period, the court issued rulings related to the
right to bear arms and the rights of detainees in Guantanamo.
The documents reveal that when Bush took office, there were 48 such directives.
In 2008, when he finished his term, that number had increased to 56. He never consulted Congress.
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Disclosures provided under the Freedom of Information Act run some 500 pages.
Another 6,000 more pages remain secret.
The House of Representatives approved a bill in December that would require delivery of these emergency documents to Congress.
The law is pending approval by the Senate, where it lacks the necessary backing from congressional Republicans.
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Although both former President Barack Obama and Donald Trump mentioned in their budget proposals that they were reviewing the presidential emergency action documents, it is unknown if there were changes in both administrations.
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The content of this type of plans in the decades of the 50s and 60s is better known because they are mentioned in documents that were made public.
They spoke of censorship of information and the suspension of judicial hearings of detainees.
In 1950, it was also proposed to create military zones that would prohibit the entry of certain categories of people, according to the newspaper.
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