The Presidential “Football” From Eisenhower to
George W. Bush |
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Washington, D.C., July 18, 2023 – A set of highly secret emergency action plans kept inside the closely guarded “Football” that traveled with the President at all times and that would give the federal government sweeping emergency powers were of “doubtful legality,” “badly out of date,” and “even illegal,” according to top government officials whose views are memorialized in declassified records posted today by the National Security Archive. Since the late 1950s, U.S. military personnel traveling with the President have carried a special case known variously as the “satchel,” the “black bag,” the “emergency actions pouch” and, as it is perhaps best known, the “Football.” Epitomizing presidential control of nuclear weapons, the Football and the military aides who carry it enable the President to make decisions about the use of nuclear weapons in the event of a sudden military crisis. While the existence of the Football has been known since the 1960s, reliable details about its contents have been relatively scarce. During the Cold War, and possibly later, they included proclamations and executive orders known as Presidential Emergency Action Documents (PEADs) for use in a national emergency. The purpose of the documents was “to clothe the President with formal emergency powers,” even though some were of “doubtful legality,” perhaps because they included the suspension of habeas corpus, a declaration of martial law, and the authorization of mass arrests and arbitrary detentions. Today’s posting by the National Security Archive includes several documents about the contents of the PEADs and the Carter administration’s efforts to revise directives considered to be “badly out of date.” Other documents illuminate arrangements to assign a Football to Carter’s vice president, Walter Mondale, with one permanently stationed at his official residence. The posting also includes excerpts from interviews conducted by William Manchester while researching his book, The Death of a President, which shed light on Football arrangements during the Kennedy administration. Also featured is gallery of recently released photos from the George W. Bush Presidential Library showing military officers carrying the Football in a variety of situations, including during overseas travel with the President, depicting the routine and unique role played by the Football and its handlers in presidential entourages. |
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