CLOSING THE DEEP STATE GAP: A PROPOSED LAW TO RESTORE CONSTITUTIONAL ORDER

Is the problem the law itself?

The proposed Executive Integrity and Oath Protection Act, outlined in Tadas Klimas's January 9, 2026, American Thinker article "Closing the Deep State Gap: A Proposed Law to Restore Constitutional Order," offers a bold, necessary step toward dismantling the unelected bureaucracy that has usurped power from the people's elected president. As conservatives in Weber County and across Utah know all too well, the real threat to self-government isn't always overt tyranny...it's the slow, insidious sabotage by entrenched officials who swear oaths to the Constitution but act to undermine the executive chosen by voters.

Klimas rightly identifies the core issue: current federal law lacks a specific criminal offense for deliberate abuse of office that targets the lawful functioning of the presidency. Sedition statutes require force or overt rebellion; existing crimes like obstruction or perjury don't fully capture the "soft" coup tactics we've witnessed...from the Russia hoax leaks and weaponized intelligence to novel legal theories deployed in lawfare against political opponents. These acts erode the unitary executive under Article II without fitting neatly into traditional criminal categories, allowing perpetrators to "skate" while the American people suffer the consequences.

The proposed bill closes this gap with precision and safeguards. It criminalizes:
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• Using official authority to promote knowingly false or misleading information (e.g., intelligence community statements or leaks designed to deceive the public and hamstring a president).

• Sham procedural compliance that evades substantive safeguards while intending to obstruct executive action.

• Prosecutorial abuse via stretched, untested legal theories against sitting or former high-ranking officials when the motive is interference rather than justice.

Penalties are serious...up to 10 or 20 years imprisonment, forfeiture of office, permanent disqualification from public service, and restitution...yet the bill includes robust defenses: good-faith reliance on reasonable legal advice, protections for whistleblowing, congressional oversight, and judicial proceedings. Prosecutions require Attorney General approval plus a special federal judicial panel's probable cause finding, minimizing the risk of weaponization against legitimate actors.

This isn't about revenge; it's about restoration. The Constitution vests executive power in one elected president, not a permanent class of "experts" insulated by civil service rules and "independent" agencies. As Klimas notes, the expansion of these protections over decades has created a de facto oligarchy that thrives on compliant or weak presidents. True accountability demands that subordinates owe faithful execution...not personal loyalty to agendas, but to the constitutional chain of command.

In an era where unelected bureaucrats have launched baseless investigations, leaked classified information to sway elections, and pursued endless probes against political foes, this law would deter future sabotage. It reaffirms that government employees serve at the pleasure of the people through their president, not as an autonomous fourth branch.

Congress should introduce and pass the Executive Integrity and Oath Protection Act without delay. President Trump's return provides the mandate and momentum to enact such reforms. By criminalizing oath-breaking sabotage with clear intent requirements and judicial checks, we can restore the Founders' vision: a government accountable to the electorate, not insulated from it.

Utah's conservative grassroots—through caucuses, conventions, and activism—can amplify this call. Contact your representatives, demand hearings, and make clear that closing the Deep State gap is essential to making America great again. The time for half-measures is over; constitutional order demands action now.

www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/01/closing_the_deep_state_gap_a_proposed_law_to_restore_constitutional_order.html | January 9, 2026