Photographer: Ivan Valencia / Bloomberg
Photographer: Ivan Valencia / Bloomberg
The ten former U.S. defense secretaries living this month called for a peaceful transition of power and warned that any effort to involve the military in resolving electoral disputes “would lead us to dangerous, illegal and unconstitutional territory.”
Three days before Congress meets to certify the victory of President-elect Joe Biden, the group, which served Democratic and Republican presidents, evoked the Civil War in a message to President Donald Trump to grant defeat, though he did not name him.
Signatories included James Mattis, who resigned as Trump’s defense secretary in 2018, and Mark Esper, whom Trump fired in a tweet in November.
“The US election and the resulting peaceful transfers of power are hallmarks of our democracy,” the group said in a Washington Post opinion article. “Time has passed to question the results; the time has come for the formal counting of the votes of the electoral college, as prescribed by the Constitution and the statutes. “
While Trump has promoted unfounded allegations of capital vote fraud, and has called for supporters who plan to meet in Washington on Jan. 6, former defense leaders have focused on calls from some circles to get involved. the military to overturn the results of the November 3 presidential election. They include Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who claimed last month that Trump had the power to repeat state elections. military supervision.
“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,” the former defense secretaries said.
They asked Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller and his subordinates to cooperate with Biden’s transition team.
“They must also refrain from any political action that could undermine the election results or hinder the success of the new team,” they said.
Other former defense chiefs who support the opinion are Ashton Carter, Dick Cheney, William Cohen, Robert Gates, Chuck Hagel, Leon Panetta, William Perry and Donald Rumsfeld.