Former US secretaries of defence on Sunday cautioned United States President Donald Trump against the move to involve the military in his pursuit of challenging the legitimacy of the 2020 US presidential election.
All of the 10 former defence secretaries warned and argued that it would take the country into 'dangerous, unlawful and unconstitutional territory.'
A Washington Post opinion article, published on Sunday and signed by all of the 10 secretaries from both Republican and Democrat parties, implicitly questioned Trump’s willingness to follow his Constitutional duty to peacefully relinquish power on January 20.
“The time for questioning the results has passed; the time for the formal counting of the electoral college votes, as prescribed in the Constitution and the statute has arrived,” they wrote.
The former Pentagon chiefs further cautioned against the use of the military in such circumstances to change the ultimate result of the elections.
“Efforts to involve the US armed forces in resolving election disputes would take us into dangerous, unlawful and unconstitutional territory. “Civilian and military officials who direct or carry out such measures would be accountable, including potentially facing criminal penalties, for the grave consequences of their actions on our republic,” they added.
The opinion article in the Post 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 Defence Secretary. He resigned in 2018 and was succeeded by Mark Esper, who was fired just days after the Nov. 3 election.
The military has no role in interfering between the outcome of the presidential elections, a number of senior military officers including chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley have held.
The former Pentagon leaders also warned about the dangers of obstructing a smooth transition at the defence department prior to the 20th January inauguration as part of a transfer to power to President-elect Joe Biden. “Transfers of power often occur at times of international uncertainty about US national security policy and posture. There can be a moment when the nation is vulnerable to actions by adversaries seeking to take advantage of the situation,” the Post article said.
