WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday suggested Democratic veterans in Congress should be hanged for releasing a joint video urging U.S. military service members to disobey unlawful orders from on high.
In a series of unhinged posts on his social media site, Truth Social, Trump boosted an anonymous user’s message that read, “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!” The message was in response to a news story about the video released Tuesday by six Democrats in the House and Senate, all with military or intelligence backgrounds.
In another message, Trump himself called it “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” that members of Congress would release such a video.
“It’s called SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL,” the president wrote, in still another message. “Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL. Their words cannot be allowed to stand - We won’t have a Country anymore!!! An example MUST BE SET. President DJT.”
News: Marine Colonel Who Resigned Because Of Trump Says Personnel Should Question 'Illegal Orders'
In fact, U.S. military service members have a right to refuse illegal orders, and in some cases, a duty to do so. Everyone in the military swears an oath to the U.S. Constitution, not to a particular president of the United States or anyone else in the chain of command.
Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), one of the six Democrats in the video, said Wednesday that the group made the video out of concern for possible future illegal orders by the president, versus any specific orders that have already been given.
“Donald Trump has made a series of very disturbing comments and suggestions that would violate U.S. law and put our military in a terrible position,” Crow, a former Army ranger, said in a Fox News interview. “I don’t want to wait until that happens to remind our troops of this obligation, because then it will be too late.”
A service member may be punished by court-martial for failing to obey any lawful order or regulation, per the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which is the foundation for the conduct and legal procedures for the U.S. military justice system.
The U.S. military’s 2024 manual for courts-martial gets more specific: It states that a military order is lawful, “unless it is contrary to the Constitution, the laws of the United States, or lawful superior orders or for some other reason is beyond the authority of the official issuing it.”
“This inference does not apply to a patently illegal order, such as one that directs the commission of a crime,” the manual states. It continues elsewhere, “The lawfulness of an order is a question of law to be determined by the military judge.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment about the dangerousness and illegality of the president’s comments.
On Capitol Hill, House Democratic leaders issued a joint statement condemning the president’s “disgusting and dangerous death threats against Members of Congress,” and called on House Republicans to do the same.
They said they also contacted the House Sergeant at Arms and the U.S. Capitol Police to ensure the safety of the six Democrats and their families.
“Donald Trump must immediately delete these unhinged social media posts and recant his violent rhetoric before he gets someone killed,” reads a statement from House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (Mass.) and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (Calif.).
Some Democrats emphasized that it is moments like this when Republicans absolutely need to speak out against the president’s rhetoric.
“Our service members swear an oath to uphold our Constitution, and the administration should never try to force them to carry out an illegal order,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), the ranking member on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, said in a statement.
“Calling for the execution of senators and members of Congress for reminding our troops of that is chilling behavior we should expect from authoritarians like Orban or Putin, not the President of the United States,” Coons said. “Every one of my Republican colleagues needs to stand up and swiftly condemn this.”
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) was less measured in his response.
“The President of the United States just called for Democratic members of Congress to be executed. ‘HANG THEM,’ he posted,” Murphy wrote on social media. “If you’re a person of influence in this country and you haven’t picked a side, maybe now would be the time to pick a f'n side.”
https://www.aol.com/articles/hang-t...g7_ExqEk0osoRmdM3vpuUNzvohy3Z7Dt0i4jQoyhtrump seem to hate anyone that reminds our service members that their oath is to the constitution and not the president. How dare they!?
