All ten former U.S. Secretary of Defense still living, including two who worked for Donald Trump, have called on the president and his supporters to accept that he lost the election and warned against attempts to involve the military in its increasingly desperate efforts to to reverse rash.
In an unprecedented joint letter published in the Washington Post, Defense Secretary addressed the worst fears about what could happen in the 17 days of Trump’s administration before Trump’s inauguration: an attempt by Trump to advance crises with the purpose of causing a military intervention. in his last struggle to hold power.
“Attempts to involve the U.S. military in resolving disputes over elections would take us to dangerous, illegal and unconstitutional territory,” the letter reads.
“Civil and military officials directing or executing such measures will be liable, including possible criminal penalties, for the serious consequences of their actions in our republic.”
Among the signatories were James Mattis and Mark Esper, who both served as defense secretaries in the Trump administration. Esper openly contradicted Trump in June, insisting that there were no grounds to invoke the Insurrection Act, which would allow the deployment of U.S. troops in U.S. streets in extreme circumstances.
Dick Cheney, secretary of defense under George HW Bush, and vice president for his son, George W Bush, and Donald Rumsfeld, secretary of defense in the younger Bush administration, also signed. The other signatories were William Perry and William Cohen, defense secretaries in the Bill Clinton administration; Leon Panetta, Chuck Hagel and Ashton Carter, who served under Barack Obama; and Robert Gates, who served under the younger Bush and Obama.
‘Transitions, which we have all experienced, are an important part of the successful transfer of power. “They often occur in times of international uncertainty over U.S. national security policy and attitudes,” the former defense secretary wrote. “This could be a moment when the country is vulnerable to action by opponents who want to take advantage of the situation.”
They asked the current Secretary of Defense, Christopher Miller, and his officials to work with the Biden transition team again, who complained that their briefings had been cut off and that the Pentagon had stopped answering their queries.
The Washington Post quoted Eric Edelman, a former U.S. ambassador and defense official, as saying the origin of the remarkable letter was a conversation he had with Cheney about how the military could be used in the coming days.
There is concern about unrest on Wednesday when a dozen Republican senators say they will challenge the normal routine ratification of the congressional outcome.
Trump encouraged his supporters to gather in Washington and tweeted, “Be there, there will be wild!” The far-right Proud Boys are expected to count among the pro-Trump crowd in the capital.
Cohen told the Post he was concerned about the mention of martial law by former Trump security adviser Michael Flynn, especially after Trump’s use of the military and other federal forces to remove protesters outside the White House in June.
“This is a very dangerous action that needs to be called for before it happens,” Cohen said.
‘[It is] so important to see that the country’s secretaries of defense are sending this message, ”wrote Risa Brooks, an associate professor at Marquette University, who studies civil and military relations and political violence. “The civilians who run the army must take the lead in conveying this message to the public and not leaving it to the army alone.”