Ten US ex-defence secretaries warn Trump not to involve military in his election fraud claims

Ten US ex-defence secretaries warn Trump not to involve military in his election fraud claims
File Photo

NEW YORK, Jan 04 (APP): All 10 former US defence secretaries still living, including two who worked for Donald Trump, have called for the president and his supporters to accept he lost the election and warned against attempts to involve the military in his increasingly desperate efforts to overturn the result.

The former Pentagon chiefs, both Republicans and Democrats, said in an extraordinary opinion piece in The Washington that the election is over and that the Pentagon’s leaders are not sworn to protect “an individual or a party.”

They cited October comments from General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that there is no role for the U.S. military in determining the outcome of a U.S. election.

Efforts to involve the U.S. armed forces in resolving election disputes would take us into dangerous, unlawful and unconstitutional territory,the former secretaries said.

“Civilian and military officials who direct or carry out such measures would be accountable, including potentially facing criminal penalties, for the grave consequences of their actions on our republic.”

The former Defence secretaries wrote the Pentagon’s current officials needed to protect their oath, law and precedent to facilitate the entry into office of the incoming administration.

They must also refrain from any political actions that undermine the results of the election or hinder the success of the new team,the former secretaries said.

We call upon them, in the strongest terms, to do as so many generations of Americans have done before them, the op-ed continued.

This final action is in keeping with the highest traditions and professionalism of the U.S. armed forces, and the history of democratic transition in our great country.

Besides Esper and Mattis, the op-ed’s authors included former secretaries Ashton Carter, Dick Cheney, William Cohen, Robert Gates, Chuck Hagel, Leon Panetta, William Perry and Donald Rumsfeld.

The op-ed was published as several lawmakers in the House and Senate plan to contest the Electoral College vote on Wednesday in the hopes that Congress will back the objections and send the matter to the mostly Republican state legislatures.

The effort will almost certainly be fruitless as Democrats control the House and several Republicans and party leaders in the Senate have spoken out against the move.

The Defence secretaries’ call on Pentagon leadership also comes after Biden and his advisers have raised concerns that officials at the Pentagon and the Office of Management and Budget are declining to hold meetings or respond to information requests amid the transition.

Make no mistake, this lack of cooperation has real world consequences, most concerningly as it relates to national security, Yohannes Abraham, executive director of the Biden-Harris transition, said last week.

This intentionally generated paucity makes it harder for our government to protect the American people moving forward.

The president-elect himself addressed the tension last Monday, calling the delays nothing short … of irresponsibility.

The Pentagon countered the transition team’s accusations, noting they have provided more than 5,000 pages of classified information, answered 188 requests for information and completed 164 interviews with more than 400 officials in the past month.

DoD’s (Department of Defence’s) efforts already surpass those of recent administrations with over three weeks to go and we continue to schedule additional meetings for the remainder of the transition and answer any and all requests for information in our purview, acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller said in a statement last week.

Meanwhile, The Washington Post quoted Eric Edelman, a former US ambassador and defence official, as saying the genesis of the remarkable letter was a conversation he had with Cheney, a former vice president, about how the military might be used in coming days.
There are concerns over unrest on Wednesday when a dozen Republican senators say they will challenge the normally routine congressional ratification of the electoral college result.

Trump has urged his supporters to rally in Washington, tweeting: Be there, will be wild! The far right Proud Boys are expected to be among the pro-Trump crowd in the capital.

APP Services