Shadow Empire

Chapter 1177 Trouble Encountered During the Review
The president sat in his large chair, looking at Senator Cleveland, and after a moment raised an eyebrow and said, "Between Porter and me..."

He wanted to say that Director Roland was a deal between him and Porter, and that sending someone to the position in advance would bring many benefits to Mr. Porter. Although Director Roland ultimately distorted the outcome with his "excellence," it did not prevent the existence of this deal between Mr. President and Mr. Porter.

As for what he and Mr. Porter exchanged, only he and Mr. Porter themselves probably know, but Senator Cleveland probably doesn't care much about that. It was probably just some... disregard for the policies left by the previous president or certain pardons.

The president of the federal government can sign pardons to pardon certain criminals, regardless of what they have done; this is a privilege granted to the president by the Constitution.

Even Congress cannot overturn or reject a pardon signed by the president.

But that's how the world is: there is arrival, there is departure; there is birth, there is death.

A pardon that no one else can veto, yet the president himself can veto, sounds like a self-contradictory and foolish statement.

Don't forget that presidents also have terms of office. All pardons signed by the previous president are naturally valid, but the next president can overturn the pardons of the first president, or other presidential privileges, and reopen the investigation.

There are often some deals that the public doesn't see during the transition between each president. It's not that these deals are so profound that people can't understand them; it's just that they're not shown them.

Because these things would shake the foundations of federal political parties.

Like the current president, he has done a lot to seek a second term, and many of these decisions were undoubtedly terrible, and he used some despicable means, otherwise it would not have triggered a political "riot".

He can be said to be one of the core issues that led to the Socialist Party losing control of the federal government.

Naturally, he also made many mistakes, even sins, in the process, including those involving some of his family and friends.

He wanted to save these people, so he signed a pardon, absolving them of all their crimes—first, an investigation was needed, and his signing of this document was only useful when the judiciary found them guilty.

Doing this might ruin some people's futures, but... who the hell cares?
They've already gotten what they wanted: money, status, power, and influence. They don't care what happens in the future!

In order to keep these pardons in effect, the president had to ensure that Mr. Porter would not bring up past mistakes after being sworn in. This is why, despite being elected president by the Socialist Party, he had some dealings and deals with the Liberal Party presidential candidate.

When Mr. Porter's term is about to end, he will actually make the same deal with the next most likely presidential candidate.

He signed some presidential privileges in exchange for concessions on certain benefits, hoping that his successor would ignore his abuse of power.

Director Roland was part of the deal, and the President certainly wouldn't be happy to ask him to change or withdraw from it.

It's easy to do, but if Mr. Potter turns against him after being sworn in, he'll lose more than he gains.

He appeared powerless in the face of Senator Cleveland's demands and was unwilling to get involved.

Senator Cleveland clearly knew some of the inside information, and he did not pressure the president to do it immediately, but simply explained the current situation.

"There's a high chance that Director Roland won't be coming out, so you haven't broken your deal with him. What you need to do now is to appoint an acting director for the vacant FBI. Once the case there is closed, you can make this acting director the official director."

While we still have control of Congress.

The president frowned. "That sounds like it. I'll make a call and ask."

He then called the U.S. Attorney’s Office in front of Senator Cleveland to inquire about the “completeness” of the case. When he learned that there was ample witness testimony and physical evidence, he realized that Senator Cleveland had not lied to him about the matter.

After hanging up the phone, he pondered for a moment. Senator Cleveland didn't press him. "This matter concerns many of our future plans. You've already disappointed us once; will this happen a second time?"

The president shivered as he met Senator Cleveland's icy gaze.

Throughout federal history, there has been more than one tragic presidential family. Although these families produced presidents, they all fell into misfortune after doing something they shouldn't have done.

Drowning in a swimming pool in front of dozens of people is considered a merciful outcome. Some unlucky ones are neither wiped out nor spared, but are tormented indefinitely. This is a prime example of the petty nature of federal politicians!

It's even possible that the president's family was one of the masterminds behind it all.

It is precisely because he knows some of the more dangerous practices within political parties that he has become very careful and cautious.

“I’m worried, Jeffrey. You know there are some things I can’t explain in detail, but if things don’t go well between us, it will put me in a very passive position!”

He no longer possessed the iron will and strength he had during the war, nor did he have that tough attitude. Now he was like a very wounded old man, begging others not to hurt him.

Senator Cleveland shook his head. "No one will put you in a passive position. The only thing I can tell you is that you don't need to worry about this. We have the means to deal with it."

"His victory was simply because he was the most suitable person, not because he beat us, do you understand what I mean?"

These words seemed a bit inexplicable at first, but as the president delved deeper and pondered them, he seemed to come to understand their meaning.

His gaze toward Senator Cleveland also changed; he didn't ask the question that was on his mind—"You don't plan to let him be re-elected?"

Because he knew that the person in front of him would not answer him directly, or even give him any response, and this was also a fact!
After a while, he sighed and asked, "Who have you chosen?"

Senator Cleveland gave him a somewhat unfamiliar name, but that didn't matter. Whether he knew him or not was irrelevant; what mattered was that the Socialist Party needed this person in this position.

After achieving his goal, Senator Cleveland was about to leave when the president saw him off at the entrance of the presidential palace. "Now I just want to retire peacefully," he said.

His meaning was clear: he did not want to get back involved in the political infighting between the two parties, nor did he want to go toe-to-toe with Mr. Porter, who was about to take office.

Senator Cleveland gave a knowing smile. "You've gotten your share, eaten your fill, and now you want to just walk away?"

He didn't offer any further hints, simply shaking his head. "In short, when we need you, you'd better be on our side."

He raised his hand and said, "See you later, Your Excellency President."

Without waiting for the president's response, he turned and got into his car by the roadside and drove away quickly.

The president watched the departing motorcade and sighed. He was now experiencing, well, not entirely, any regret of the methods he used to seek a second term—a little, but not much.

His years in office brought him and his family substantial benefits, especially during the war when he established good cooperation and business dealings with the ever-expanding military-industrial complexes.

This relationship should last until his death, and his family will benefit from it.

It's not unacceptable to make a small sacrifice for these benefits.

The news of FBI Director Roland's arrest spread even faster thanks to the efforts of some people, and the Federal Post soon saw another sales surge as people wanted to know what he had done to warrant his arrest.

The president also had his press secretary react to the investigation of Director Roland, saying he found it hard to believe and that he had asked the prosecutor's office to conduct a thorough investigation into the case.

We cannot detain someone and label them a criminal simply because there are accusations that may be framed, without considering the facts.

However, we cannot assume that Roland did nothing wrong simply because he was a senior federal government employee.

The president's opinion is: do not let a bad person go unpunished, but do not harm a good person either.

Given that this could be a time-consuming case, and that the FBI's day-to-day operations needed to continue during that time, the president appointed someone relatively unknown to the public as the new "acting director."

This matter was quickly and smoothly passed by Congress.

The appointment of the FBI director is the prerogative of the president, but Congress can reject the nominee by vote.

This is perhaps what makes federal politics both interesting and boring: they always do this, the person who nominates a candidate cannot decide whether that person passes, and Congress, which can decide whether a person passes, cannot nominate a candidate itself.

This may seem to have eliminated some problems of power corruption, but when the time comes, corruption will still occur.

Teamwork exists not only in sporting events but also in politics.

As soon as Congress approved the nominee, Mr. Porter called the President to inquire about the matter.

In response, the president stated that he had fulfilled his promise made in the deal with Mr. Porter, appointing Rowland as the director of the FBI, which was approved by Congress.

Now that Roland has been taken away by the prosecutor's office for investigation, and he has heard that Roland will not be out for a while, the work of the FBI certainly cannot be put on hold.

They now also bear the heavy responsibility of eradicating gangs, and the entire FBI is working on this.

Therefore, someone was needed to manage the day-to-day operations, so he appointed an acting director to temporarily take over the work of the investigation bureau.

The rest can be decided after he takes office.

Mr. Porter had some reservations about this, but he didn't pursue it further. After all, he was about to be sworn in, and there was no need to dwell on such a trivial matter.

Moreover, he believed that it was only a matter of time before they took over the entire Congress.

In this unseen transaction, a new acting director has taken office, and there has been no major upheaval in these matters.

Everything was transitioning smoothly, except for Chief Prosecutor Roland in the prosecutor's office.

Now that he is no longer the bureau chief, and with more and more evidence being presented to him by his cousin, Roland's psychological defenses are gradually crumbling, even as a veteran law enforcement officer.

It's like the feeling of "How the hell could you tell them this?"—unable to believe that the person you trust most would stab you in the back at the most crucial moment.

Then he might have pessimistic thoughts like, "If even such an important secret has been leaked, what other secrets could he not have told me?"

When a person is experiencing significant emotional fluctuations, their memory often suffers. They may become unable to clearly recall which events their cousin, the bureau chief, was involved in and which they were not, leading to new information emerging during interrogations and confessions.

For example, Roland disclosed some additional sources of funding and some additional bank accounts, which brought more things and work to the prosecutor's office.

The prosecutor in charge of the case did not go home immediately after finishing his day's work. Instead, he drove to Senator Cleveland's estate, where Senator Cleveland called him, wanting to talk to him.

Normally, he wouldn't be qualified to visit this manor. He's just an prosecutor, not the Attorney General. In federal politics, he can't even make a ripple!

But because of Roland's case, he had the opportunity to come to this place full of mystery and enigma.

"Please sit wherever you like. I just want to know how the case is progressing. I hope this won't put you in a difficult position."

The prosecutor quickly assured him that this was not a problem, and then spoke with Senator Cleveland about the trial process of the case.

Senator Cleveland frowned slightly at the end. "How long do you think it will take you to resolve this case?"

It's already the end of November, and December will be here in a few days. There are only 30-odd days left until the presidential inauguration in January next year.

He had a vague feeling that Roland was now giving instructions from time to time, but he wasn't really explaining the issues; he was just stalling for time!

The prosecutor considered for a moment, then said, "If we want to figure out all the issues, it may take three to six months."

"Moreover, Roland seems to be stalling for time. He could have given a comprehensive explanation, but he always gives a little bit of information every day or two."

Senator Cleveland agreed, saying, "I share the same view. Is there any way to speed up this process?"

The prosecutor hesitated, saying, "The Liberal Party is also watching this case, and there are some methods we can't easily use."

At that moment, a suitable candidate popped into Senator Cleveland's mind.

Lance.

(End of this chapter)