Former defense ministers: Trump, don’t get military involved in contesting election results

The ten surviving former U.S. defense ministers have all called on President Trump to recognize the presidential election result. They also warn him in a opiniestuk in the Washington Post not to involve the army in its struggle to challenge the result.

Without any evidence, Trump claims he lost the election to Joe Biden due to fraud. He has lost countless lawsuits the President has brought. Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, suggested in December that the president could declare martial law to hold new elections under military supervision.

Trump denied this as a possibility, but invited Flynn to the White House shortly after he left Flynn. pardoned for his role in Russian interference in previous presidential elections.

The group of ministers who wrote the op-ed consists of both Democrats and Republicans, such as Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Leon Panetta. Additionally, Trump’s two previous defense ministers signed the article, James Mattis and Mark Esper, in November. had to clear the ground.

“The time to question the result is over; the time to formally count the votes of the electoral college, as required by the Constitution, has come,” they write.

The electoral college

On Wednesday, the U.S. Congress will count the votes cast by the Electoral College on December 14. This is the last formal step in Biden’s election to the presidency. However, a group of about 12 Republican senators and more than 100 members of the House of Representatives want to challenge that tally.

Other senators and representatives, including prominent Republicans, strongly opposed the plan. Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan said in a statement: “Biden’s victory is completely legitimate.” According to Ryan, casting doubt on the election results “affects the foundations of our republic.”

The ten defense ministers think so too. “Attempting to involve the US armed forces in the resolution of an electoral dispute would land us in dangerous, illegal and unconstitutional territory. Civilian and military personnel involved in the implementation of these measures are responsible and may be subject to criminal convictions for the terrible consequences of their actions for our republic. “

Enemies

They also believe that opposition to the transfer of power to Biden’s new government should be an end. Various ministries, including Defense, are not cooperating well, Biden’s team says.

It endangers America’s security, say former defense ministers: “This may be a time when the nation is vulnerable to the actions of our enemies who want to take advantage of the situation.”

Including with Iran the tension rises again, a year after America killed its military leader Qassem Soleimani. United States announced two-day return to Gulf region aircraft carrier Nimitz withdraw, but that decision was overturned due to new threats from Iran.