President Clinton has all the authority he needs to place this country under a dictatorship with the stroke of the pen.

He could do it at any time. Congress has given him the power. The laws are in the statute books. And the courts have already refused to say "no."

Those are the conclusions of Virginia attorneys William Olson and Alan Woll, editor and assistant editor of Issues Bulletin, the newsletter of the Abraham Lincoln Foundation, a non-profit, public policy organization in Washington, D.C.

In the December issue, the two attorneys take a sharp look at the unrestricted expansion of the executive branch by means of a little understood procedure, and the feet-dragging reluctance of Congress and the courts to do anything to stop it. Their eight-page legal study is titled, "Executive Orders and National Emergencies: Presidential Power Grab Nearly Unchecked."

According to Olson and Woll, "A President may simply choose to declare a state of emergency, without any standards, any input from Congress or much risk of judicial challenge."

President Clinton has already declared and renewed 12 distinct "national emergencies" -- all currently in force.

"Once a national emergency is declared, presidents use executive orders to exercise emergency powers. Some such powers come from Congress -- (but) presidents assert other emergency powers without any statutory or Constitutional authority," according to the report.

To make matters worse, "(T)he courts have deferred to presidential declarations of national emergencies, refusing to examine the basis for the emergency even years -- or decades -- after the emergency was declared." In fact, the United States has been in a presidentially-declared state of emergency since March 1933.

Olson and Woll fear that Americans are especially "vulnerable" at this time, quite frankly because of the character of the president.

As they see it: "So long as the definition (and declaration) of a national emergency remains at the unbridled discretion of a president -- with the Congress and the courts granting extensive, perhaps comprehensive authority to presidents whenever a national emergency is declared -- Americans enjoy little protection from the prospect of oppressive, dictatorial government. The risk is greatest when the character of the president is not worthy of trust."

Contacted for comment, Olson and Woll discussed their report with WorldNetDaily in a telephone interview.

"I wish I had an infinite amount of time to become an expert in a field in which no one is an expert," said Olson, who deplores the "dearth of sound legal and policy research" regarding executive orders and the powers the president can wield during a national emergency.

"There are some secondary sources out there, but most of those are unreliable because it's not clear how these things (executive orders) really work. No one really understands them," he said.

The problem is compounded by a lack of interest by persons they had expected to be well informed. Early in their investigation they discovered that no one at the Capitol, not even entrenched congressional staffers, has a firm grasp of the subject.

National emergencies are declared, executive orders are issued, but "there's no real tracking."

"Nobody is minding the store," said Olson.

With almost nothing to go on, the two attorneys were forced to begin their research virtually from scratch. "We had to go to the original sources, do everything from the ground up," Olson recalled.

A 1976 Senate report on presidential powers and national emergencies proved to be the most valuable source. The report explained how President Franklin Roosevelt declared a national emergency and bank holiday immediately following his inauguration in March 1933 citing as authority the 1917 Trading With the Enemy Act, a wartime measure that was never repealed.

The state of national emergency continued until 1977, when Congress -- in an attempt to impose some limits on presidential powers -- amended the Trading With the Enemy Act to prohibit its use to proclaim national emergencies in peacetime.

In addition, Congress passed the National Emergencies Act in 1978, which provided that all national emergencies would cease on September 14, 1978, and set up a mechanism for Congress to terminate or block a declaration.

It didn't work.

Despite Congress' effort, a dozen or so national emergencies have been declared and renewed annually, and are right now in effect. These are premised upon problems with Iran (every year since 1979), Libya (since 1986), Iraq (since 1990), Yugoslavia (since 1992), proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (since 1993), UNITA (Angolan anti-communists, since 1993), Middle East terrorism (since 1995), Colombian drug dealers (since 1995), Cuba (since 1996), Burma (since 1997), and Sudan (since 1997). Even the expiration of a statute, the Export Administration Act of 1979, caused President Clinton to declare and renew a state of national emergency (since 1994).

A 13th, inspired by conditions in Haiti, was in force from 1992 until revoked in 1994.

Olson pointed out that although Clinton is responsible for eight of the dozen "national emergencies" in effect today, he didn't invent the tactic of expanding executive branch powers through such declarations.

"It's been going on a long time," Olson observed. "The country's been in a near-permanent state of emergency since the beginning of the New Deal. Before FDR came in a state of national emergency would only be declared in wartime. The funny thing now is, it's no longer a requirement that there even be an real threat to this country. What is unique about the recent declarations is that (Presidents) Bush and Clinton have declared national emergencies in the event of not even actual terrorism, but merely threatened terrorism with respect to foreign targets or intangibles like the 'peace process.'

"The Congress could not have intended for these extraordinary powers to be given to a president -- it's not possible. And now, one would hope, the legislative branch would have some belief in the Constitution and some willingness to assert its prerogative against the president.

"But instead," said Olson, "There is silence."

Besides congressional silence and indifference, Olson and Woll are particularly concerned about the scope and number of special powers which the president can invoke virtually at whim if there's a "national emergency."

A state of emergency may be invoked against, say, Iraq. The president announces he has the power to block assets of Iraqis in this country, seize the holdings of the government, and impose various sanctions. This would seem to limit the actual scope to people directly involved: either Iraqi citizens, the Iraqi government, or American business people that want to engage in commerce with that country.

But as Woll and Olson see it, the president can -- if he chooses -- go much further than the planned actions detailed in the declaration. Once a state of emergency is declared on any issue, he automatically has at his disposal a vast arsenal of powers to use against other perceived threats totally unrelated to a particular emergency.

These powers have been granted in various statutes passed by the Legislature over the years. It would seem that not only is Congress not minding the store -- they're giving the store away.

According to the 1976 Senate Report, by 1973 Congress had passed some 470 statutes giving extraordinary powers to the president. Unfortunately these were not listed, and Olson admitted he and Woll have not been able to locate that many.

The task is made difficult because the statutes are not grouped together, but are found scattered throughout the titles of the U.S. Code.

Some are even hidden away in the appendices.

"It's really bizarre," said Woll.

Nonetheless, what they have found is impressive.

There's the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which authorizes the requisition or purchase of any vessel or watercraft during a national emergency -- any emergency. Olson quoted the statute:

"Whenever the president shall proclaim that the security of the national defense makes it advisable or during any national emergency declared by proclamation of the president, it shall be lawful for the Secretary of Transportation to requisition or purchase any vessel or other water craft owned by citizens of the United States.

"The way I read that, it seems to me all he (the president) needs is a national emergency -- any national emergency," Olson said.

Alan Woll agreed.

"The statute giving the president certain powers in a national emergency does not limit his powers to that particular emergency," Woll said. "You do need a state of declared national emergency, but I think that's a fair reading of those statutes granting extraordinary powers."

Woll pointed to Title 50, War and National Defense, as the obvious place to start looking for information about emergency powers and national emergencies.

"That has the statutes for calling out the National Guard," he said. "That's where you find the statutes that deal specifically with national emergencies. It's also where you find the statute for IEEPA -- that's the successor to the Trading With the Enemy Act -- it's the primary statute used to justify declaring national emergencies."

But there are other statutes, too. Some examples:

• Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 2808: In the event of a declaration of war or the declaration by the President of a national emergency ... that requires use of the armed forces, the Secretary of Defense, without regard to any other provision of law may undertake military construction projects, and may authorize the Secretaries of the military departments to undertake military construction projects, not otherwise authorized by law that are necessary to support such use of the armed forces.

• Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 644: The President may suspend the operation of [laws] relating to the promotion, involuntary retirement, or separation of officers [from the military].

  "That means Clinton can keep people from leaving the military," Olson observed. "So we have involuntary servitude.

  "And -- hey -- under Section 603 Clinton can name anyone an officer."

• Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 603: In Time of war or national emergency, the President may appoint any qualified person whether or not already a member of the armed forces to any officer grade in the Army, Navy, Air Force or Marines.

  Olson said that doesn't mean Clinton can appoint one of his friends to the rank of five-star general. There is a limit. The top rank allowed for appointees is rear admiral or major general.

• Title 33, U.S. Code, Section 855: Navigable Waters -- The President is authorized, whenever in his judgment a sufficient national emergency exists, to transfer to the service and jurisdiction of a military department such vessels, equipment, stations, and commissioned officers of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as he may deem to the best interest of the country.

  "That doesn't even require a declaration," Olson remarked.

  Under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the president can order bank holidays.

• Title 12, U.S. Code, Section 95: ... during such emergency as the President of the United States by proclamation may prescribe, no member bank of the Federal Reserve System shall transact any banking business except to such extent and subject to such regulations, limitations and restrictions as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, with the approval of the President.

  "The penalty for violation is a fine of up to $10,000 and/or 10 years in prison," said Olson. "That's for any bank, officer or employee."

Woll and Olson said they hadn't found any statute authorizing the formation of civilian work crews or the drafting of civilians -- nor any authorizing seizures of weapons from private homes.

"But we're looking and those could very well be there," they said.

"You know, the more you study this, the more frightening it becomes," said Olson. "I really think we have to use our free speech while we still have it."

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To get a free print copy of Olson and Woll's Issues Bulletin titled, "A Legal Report: Executive Orders and National Emergencies: Presidential Power Grab Nearly Unchecked," contact the Abraham Lincoln Foundation at 10315 Georgetown Pike, Great Falls, VA 22066. Mention WorldNetDaily.com, and provide name and postal mailing address.