10 former Pentagon chiefs warn Donald Trump against using military to pursue election fraud claims
10 former secretaries of defense have warned POTUS Donald Trump about any move involving the military in pursuing his claims of election fraud. They have said that any such move would take the country into "dangerous, unlawful and unconstitutional territory." The 10 men which consist of both Republicans and Democrats had decided to sign on to an article by The Washington Post that questioned Trump's willingness to follow his constitutional duty to peacefully hand over power to President-elect Joe Biden on January 20.
The results of the November 3 election are very clear and there have been subsequent recounts in some of the states as well as unsuccessful court challenges, all of which show that Trump has lost the election. They had written, "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 statute, has arrived."
The former Pentagon chiefs have warned against using the military in any way to change the outcome of the result. They shared, "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.
Many senior military officers including the likes of General Mark Milley who is the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have publicly said that the military has no role in determining the outcome of US elections with their loyalty being to the constitution and not to an individual leader or political party.
It has been said that Biden has complained that there have been efforts made by Trump-appointed Pentagon officials to obstruct the transition. The former defense secretaries did not provide any specifics but said that transfers of power "often occur at times of international uncertainty about US national security policy and posture." They added, "They can be a moment when the nation is vulnerable to actions by adversaries seeking to take advantage of the situation."
According to The Hill, the executive director of the Biden-Harris transition, Yohannes Abraham, said, "Make no mistake, this lack of cooperation has real-world consequences, most concerningly as it relates to national security. This intentionally generated paucity makes it harder for our government to protect the American people moving forward."
We had earlier reported that Trump refused to discuss whether he would attend President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration in January and instead continued to insist that the Democrats "lost badly" in the 2020 presidential elections back in December.
The president, however, has still refused to concede and has claimed that there was widespread "voter fraud" in the 2020 elections. However, Trump and his campaign have not provided any evidence to support their claims. Trump's legal team, which has filed multiple lawsuits in swing states over alleged election fraud, has been facing consistent defeat in courts.
The US Supreme Court, on December 11, also rejected a lawsuit filed by Texas, challenging Biden's win in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.