10 former Secretaries of Defense warn of involving US military in electoral disputes

WASHINGTON – As President Donald Trump fights to fuel claims of a stolen election in the last days of his administration, the nation’s ten defense secretaries warned Sunday that the U.S. military should have no role in determining the outcome of the US election.

“Each of us took an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. We did not swear it to any individual or party,” wrote Defense Secretaries Mark Esper, James Mattis, Ash Carter, Chuck Hagel, Leon Panetta, Dick Cheney, William Cohen, Robert Gates, William Perry and Donald Rumsfeld in a post published Sunday in the Washington Post.

“Efforts to involve the U.S. armed forces in resolving electoral disputes would lead us to dangerous, illegal, and unconstitutional territory,” the former defense secretaries wrote.

“Civilian and military officials who lead or carry out these measures would be responsible, including criminal sanctions, for the serious consequences of their actions in our republic,” they added.

Former Secretaries of Defense, who have collectively overseen U.S. military forces for nearly 50 years, argued that the “time to question the results” of the U.S. presidential election has passed.

“Our elections have taken place. Counting and audits have been carried out. The courts have addressed the appropriate challenges. The governors have certified the results. And the polling station has voted. Time has passed to question- ne the results; the time for the formal counting of the votes of the polling stations, as prescribed by the Constitution and the statutes, has come, “the former defense secretaries wrote, including two who served under Trump.

Secretaries called on Trump’s Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, as well as appointed politicians and public officials, to “refrain from any political action that undermines election results or hinders the success of the new team.” “.

“We call on them, in the strongest terms, to do what so many American generations have done before them. This final action conforms to the highest tradition and professionalism of the American armed forces and to the history of the transition. democratic in our great country, ”they wrote.

Trump, despite a series of failed legal challenges, has not granted election to Democrat Joe Biden, who will be sworn in on January 20th. Instead, Trump has made false claims about rigged elections and pushed members of his own party to engage in conspiracies to reverse Biden’s victory, attacking when they express opposition to his plans.

Over the weekend, Trump’s ambitions came to light in an extraordinary leaked phone call with Georgia’s Republican secretary of state.

During the call with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, the president said he wanted to “find 11,780 votes” that would nullify Biden’s victory in Georgia, according to the audio obtained by NBC News.

Raffensperger resisted pressure from Trump to change Georgia’s election results, even when the president made veiled threats about possible criminal proceedings if denied.

At least 12 Republican senators have called on Congress to delay certification of Biden’s victory during a joint session Wednesday. Vice President Mike Pence, who will chair the session, has welcomed the plot of senators, who have no chance of succeeding because Democrats control the House and several Republicans oppose that decision.

Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, among others, have expressed strong opposition to attempts to reverse Biden’s victory.

Protests in favor of Trump are scheduled to take place Wednesday in the country’s capital as Congress convenes to certify Biden as the new president and Kamala Harris as vice president. Trump said he will attend the protests.