WASHINGTON (AP) – In a remarkable wake-up call to President Donald Trump, the 10 living former defense secretaries warned Sunday against any attempt to implicate the military in the electoral fraud controversy, arguing that it could lead the country to “ dangerous, illegal and unconstitutional territory ”.
The 10 former officials, both Democrats and Republicans, signed an opinion piece published in The Washington Post in which they implicitly questioned Trump’s willingness to observe his constitutional duty to peacefully hand over power on January 20.
After the November 3 elections and subsequent recount in some states, as well as unsuccessful legal challenges, the result is clear, they wrote without mentioning Trump by name in the text.
“The time to question the results has passed; the time for the formal counting of the electoral college votes, as provided by the Constitution and statutes, has arrived, ”they wrote.
Former Pentagon officials warned against using military forces in any plan to change the outcome.
“Actions to involve the United States armed forces in the resolution of electoral disputes could lead us to dangerous, illegal and unconstitutional territory,” they added. “The civil and military authorities that order or carry out such measures will have to be held accountable, even face possible criminal sanctions, for the serious consequences of their actions against our republic.”
A number of high-ranking military officials, such as General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have said publicly in recent weeks that the military has no role in determining the outcome of the American election and that they are loyal to the Constitution, not an individual leader or a political party.
The 10 former Pentagon incumbents also warned in their article of the dangers of preventing a full and smooth transition in the Defense Department before the presidential inauguration as part of the transfer of power to President-elect Joe Biden. Biden has complained about attempts by Trump-appointed Pentagon officials to obstruct the transition.
Without mentioning a specific example, the former defense secretaries wrote that handovers “often occur amid international uncertainty about US national security policies and positions.” “They can take place at times when the nation is vulnerable to the actions of adversaries who seek to take advantage of the situation,” they added.
Precisely, the tensions with Iran represent a moment of this type. Sunday marked a year since the United States eliminated Qassem Soleimani, the top Iranian general; Iran has vowed to avenge that death, and US authorities said in recent days they raised the alert for a possible Iranian attack on US forces or interests in the Middle East.
In a new indication of the tensions between the United States and Iran, Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller announced Sunday night that he has reversed his decision to send the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, to the country from the Middle East and will keep it in mission. Just last week, Miller had announced that he would bring the Nimitz into the country, a decision opposed by high-ranking military officials.
Miller attributed his reversal to “recent threats made by Iranian leaders against President Trump and other US officials.” He did not elaborate on details and the Pentagon declined to answer questions.
The op-ed was signed by Dick Cheney, William Perry, Donald Rumsfeld, William Cohen, Robert Gates, Leon Panetta, Chuck Hagel, Ash Carter, James Mattis, and Mark Esper. Mattis was Trump’s first Defense Secretary; He resigned in 2018 and was succeeded by Esper, fired days after the November 3 elections.
The Post reported that the idea to write the op-ed began with a conversation between Cheney and Eric Edelman, a retired ambassador and former high-ranking Pentagon official, about how Trump might seek to use the military in the coming days.
