An interesting opinion piece – a letter to the American people — appeared Sunday in the Washington Post. The piece warns Americans that “[T]he time for questioning the [election]results has passed,” and:
Efforts to involve the U.S. 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.
The piece is interesting – “exceptional in its scope and its directness” – from a couple of standpoints.
First, the byline simply says: “Opinion by Ashton Carter, Dick Cheney, William Cohen, Mark Esper, Robert Gates, Chuck Hagel, James Mattis, Leon Panetta, William Perry and Donald Rumsfeld.”
These names happen to represent all 10 living former U.S. secretaries of defense.
They include two defense secretaries who served under Trump and eight who served under Democratic and Republican administrations. The idea for the letter is said to have come from former Republican Vice President Richard B. Cheney who was secretary of defense under George H. W. Bush.
Co-author William J. Perry says: “Each of us swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution; that oath does not change according to party designation.”
Second, the timing is interesting.
The letter was published as some Republicans are planning to contest the electoral college vote certification on Wednesday (Tom Nichols at The Atlantic calls this “ Sedition, plain and simple.”)
Perhaps coincidentally, the op-ed appeared at the Washington Post a very short time before the Post published its “bombshell” piece and audio where Trump is heard pressuring the Georgia secretary to “recalculate the vote in his favor.” “I just want to find 11,780 votes,” Trump is heard exhorting the secretary of state.
It is unlikely that the 10 defense secretaries knew about this damning – “beyond the pale” –presidential phone call at the time they composed their letter.
However, it was not necessary for the authors to be privy to this latest extraordinary attempt by this rogue commander in chief to subvert the will of the people, to overturn the outcome of the election – an attempt described by legal scholars as “a flagrant abuse of power and a potential criminal act.”
They had plenty of reasons to be concerned about what this shady president might do to remain in power.
While their letter focuses on possible attempts by the president and those of his ilk to involve the U.S. military in “resolving election disputes “ to his advantage, they clearly point out that the people have spoken and that government officials – including the president – should let the democratic process go forward unhindered by political or military interference. “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,” they write.
The former secretaries of defense pointedly conclude:
Acting defense secretary Christopher C. Miller and his subordinates — political appointees, officers and civil servants — are each bound by oath, law and precedent to facilitate the entry into office of the incoming administration, and to do so wholeheartedly. They must also refrain from any political actions that undermine the results of the election or hinder the success of the new team.
We call upon them, in the strongest terms, to do as so many generations of Americans have done before them. This final action is in keeping with the highest traditions and professionalism of the U.S. armed forces, and the history of democratic transition in our great country.
It is also telling – but not surprising – that the present secretary of defense, Trump’s political appointee Christopher Miller, is not a signatory to the letter.
Miller, a former Army officer could at least concur with his Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman’s statement that “We [military officers] don’t take an oath to an individual – we take an oath to the Constitution.”
