WASHINGTON (AP) – In an extraordinary rebuke of President Donald Trump, 10 former defense secretaries warned on Sunday against any measures to implicate the military in claiming election fraud, arguing it would make the country “dangerous, illegal” and unconstitutional territory “.
The ten men, both Democrats and Republicans, signed an opinion piece published in The Washington Post that implicitly questioned Trump’s willingness to fulfill his constitutional duty to peacefully relinquish power on January 20th. After the Nov. 3 election and subsequent reports in some U.S. states, in addition to failed court appeals, the outcome is clear, they wrote, without specifying Trump in the article.
“Time has passed to question the results; the time has come for the formal counting of the votes of the electoral colleges, as prescribed by the Constitution and the statutes ”, they wrote.
Former Pentagon chiefs warned against using the army in any effort to change the outcome.
“Efforts to involve the U.S. armed forces in resolving electoral disputes would lead us to dangerous, illegal, and unconstitutional territory,” they 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.”
Some senior military officials, including 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 U.S. election and that their loyalty is to the Constitution, not to an individual leader or a political party.
The ten former Pentagon leaders also warned in their Post article about the dangers of preventing a full and smooth transition to the Department of Defense before the day of the inauguration as part of a transfer to power of President-elect Joe Biden . Biden has complained about the efforts of Trump-appointed Pentagon officials to obstruct the transition.
Without citing a specific example, former defense secretaries wrote that transfers of power “often occur in times of international uncertainty about U.S. national security policy and stance,” adding, “They may be a time when the nation is vulnerable to the actions of adversaries seeking to take advantage of the situation. “
Tensions with Iran represent precisely such a moment. Sunday marked a year since the U.S. assassination of Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s top general; Iran has vowed to avenge the assassination, and U.S. officials said in recent days they were on alert for a possible Iranian attack on U.S. forces or interests in the Middle East.
In another sign of tension between the United States and Iran, Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Milller announced Sunday evening that he has changed his mind by sending the Navy’s aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz, home of the Middle East and will instead maintain the service vessel. Last week, Miller announced that he was sending the Nimitz home, a decision that had been opposed by senior military officials.
When reversed, Miller cited “recent threats by Iranian leaders against President Trump and other U.S. government officials.” He elaborated nothing and the Pentagon did not answer the questions.
The Post opinion piece 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 secretary of defense; he resigned in 2018 and was succeeded by Esper, who was fired a few days after the Nov. 3 election.
The Post reported that the idea of writing the opinion piece began with a conversation between Cheney and Eric Edelman, a retired ambassador and former senior Pentagon official, about how Trump could try to use the military in the coming days. .