OOC: Another infobox set of events in the TWWverse
- The Jerusalem Attacks (attempt to kill foreign leaders at the inauguration of Sawahili and then attack on the Atarot Airport in Jerusalem) have Israel and the US in the "belligerents" column since Secret Service agents killed one of the attackers and I assumed that the IDF would have tried to intercept the Syrian jets that attacked Atarot. Anrig was the IRL commander of the Swiss Guards who guard the pope at the time of the attack, and since the Swiss Guards are responsible for security inside the Holy City, I had him as the closest thing to a military commander for Jerusalem.
- The "start time" of Zoey Bartlet's abduction isn't clear, since it's never mentioned in the show how long it was before the Secret Service realized Zoey was gone and found Molly O'Connor's body. The weapons used were never mentioned, but I figured they killed Molly O'Connor with a pistol (since it would have been easier to conceal). An agent briefing Bartlet's group when they reunite with Zoey says that the last one was "going for a weapon" when the FBI took him down, which I figured would be a long gun (the make and model is the same that was IOTL used in Columbine).
- The amount for the "receipts" part of the Vinick campaign box is lifted from the OTL McCain 2008 one.
- Wells v. Sorkin had previously been established as the Supreme Court case that legalized the readjustment of the presidential election cycle from OTL. It was established as being a challenge to the Special Election Act of 1986, and also that the act had somehow come after the court case.
The revised timeline is this: the constitutional crisis begun when Ronald Reagan fell into a coma in September 1985, whereupon Vice President George P. Bush became Acting President. Since Reagan couldn't resign (because he was in a coma), could not be removed permanently without an impeachment (which would very likely run into legal problems since Reagan couldn't participate in any way in an ensuing "trial"), Congress eventually hit upon abbreviating his second term to end after the 1986 midterms, changing the presidential election cycle. After negotiations between both parties, they pushed through the Special Election Act, which Acting President Bush signed in early January 1986, then the Supreme Court agreed to fast-track a case on the subject to end the crisis. Since striking down the act would have left the country without a permanent president for three years unless Reagan died or woke up, the Court pretty much all agreed to uphold the law to end Reagan's term and allow Congress to "reset" the presidential election cycle if such circumstances arise again.
The "laws applied" include the so-called "elastic clause" which the Burger Court relied on heavily since this was (and is) constitutionally very sketchy ground.
