President Donald Trump just threatened an elected Colorado representative with arrest, a trial, and execution.
The response was unhinged. Trump said in a social media post that Crow and others were guilty of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH.” This is only further evidence that Trump is unfit to be the president of the United States.
On a daily basis, this president does something so unbecoming of the Oval Office that it makes me question his loyalty to America. Trump has no decency, no moral compass, and the thinnest understanding of American jurisprudence imaginable for someone tasked with leading a country built on freedom and justice.
This outburst of Vladimir Putin-style authoritarianism gives me the perfect opportunity to expose Trump’s failure to rise to what the White House demands – a man who is both poised and in control.
Colorado Rep. Jason Crow joined six other members of Congress who, like Crow, are all former or current members of the U.S. armed services in a social media video. The congressmembers simply remind members of the military that they can disobey orders from their superiors if the orders are illegal.
“This administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens. Like us, you all swore an oath to protect and defend this Constitution. Right now, the threats coming to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad but from right here at home. Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders. You must refuse illegal orders,” the lawmakers said in video clips spliced together. “No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution.”
What, you might ask, could prompt distinguished veterans in the U.S. Congress to issue such a dire reminder? Well, consider the bombing of boats in international waters suspected of smuggling drugs. It might seem to be legally ambiguous to those of us watching boats explode far from U.S. soil, killing all on board without trial. But what if a military checkpoint were established at the Canadian border and members of the army were ordered to take any drivers discovered to have drugs in their vehicles out behind customs’ buildings and shoot them in the head?
Is that legally ambiguous? I agree our military leaders – including U.S. generals – need to start asking themselves how far they would follow a soulless man’s orders, lest they jeopardize their own souls. I would appeal to the generals’ moral compasses, but Crow was smart to instead appeal to U.S. law. As we know, American soldiers are guided first by the U.S. Constitution, the law, and then by orders from their commanders. There is no room for conscientious objectors in war.
American presidents have for generations believed they operate beyond the reproach of the U.S. Constitution in international waters and on foreign soil. But eventually, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that President George W. Bush’s administration acted unlawfully at times in Guantanamo Bay. Perhaps someone should have reminded the 11 soldiers who faced criminal charges stemming from their actions at Abu Graib prison that they could and should disobey unlawful orders.
Trump’s response to a forceful reminder that individual members of the military can refuse to commit murder if they are ordered to open fire on an unarmed crowd, belies my very concern about Trump. Execution is how he would like to deal with U.S. Rep. Jason Crow and, now, possibly me. I sure hope that if military members are ordered to arrest me for this column, they consider the legality of doing so without an act of Congress. Members of the military cannot make arrests on American soil, and even the U.S. National Guard is prohibited from acting as law enforcement when their orders are coming from the White House rather than the governor’s mansion.
But what if the order was given? Would National Guard members violate the Posse Comitatus Act?
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Crow’s message was “dangerous” and “unprecedented in American history.”
Yes, it certainly is an extreme message during an extremely dangerous time for America, and perhaps unprecedented. But if the message in the video takes the debate about Trump’s handling of our military too far, then Trump’s response must be condemned for what it is – a radical and unacceptable escalation.
Crow and his colleagues articulated a worry that has been at the forefront of mind – who in the U.S. military will protect Americans from a lawless president?
Megan Schrader is the opinion editor of The Denver Post.
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