On November 20th, Politico reported on the President’s social media posts attacking members of Congress.  “President Donald Trump on Thursday called for six Democratic lawmakers to face arrest and trial after they made a video encouraging U.S. service members and members of the intelligence community to refrain from following orders if they broke the law.

‘It’s called SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL,’ Trump charged in a post on Truth Social. ‘Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL. Their words cannot be allowed to stand – We won’t have a Country anymore!!! An example MUST BE SET.'”

The members of Congress called traitors by the President were retired U.S. Navy Captain and former Astronaut Senator Mark Kelly, (Arizona), U.S. Army Veteran and Bronze Star recipient Congressman Jason Crow (Colorado),  U. S. Air Force Veteran Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan (Pennsylvania), U.S. Naval Academy Graduate and Iraq War Veteran Congressman Chris Deluzio, and Veteran Navy Reserve Intelligence Officer, Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (New Hampshire). He also leveled the charge against U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin (Michigan), a former CIA analyst who is wife of a retired U. S. Army Colonel and mother of a daughter serving as an officer in the U.S. Army.  Read the full report HERE    

“Secretary of War”  Inserts the Pentagon into the Attack on Legislators

The Associated Press then reported that a Pentagon investigation had begun:  “The Pentagon says that it is investigating Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona for possible breaches of military law after Kelly joined a handful of other lawmakers in a video that called for U.S. troops to refuse unlawful orders.

“The Pentagon’s statement, which was posted on social media on Monday, cited a federal law that allows retired service members to be recalled to active duty on orders of the defense secretary. Kelly served in the US Navy as a fighter pilot before going on to become an astronaut. He retired at the rank of Captain.

“It is extraordinary for the Pentagon, which until the second Trump term has usually gone out of its way to act and appear apolitical, to directly threaten a sitting member of Congress.”  Read the full report HERE

Military.com Thoughtfully Explored How The Issue Impacts Those of All Ranks on Active Duty

Dr. Douglas Lindsay, deputy editor of military.com and a retired Lt. Col in the US Air Force thoughtfully explored the implications of the debate around the President’s action on the troops in a November 26 story.

“The national back-and-forth over what public leaders can or shouldn’t say about ‘illegal orders”’has dominated headlines for days. A single video set off a cascade of political responses, counter-videos, legal commentary, and statements from retired leaders and veteran groups.

“Everyone seems to have weighed in—except the people who actually live under the UCMJ
.
“Currently Serving Troops are the One Group You Don’t Hear From
Not because they’re disinterested.  Not because they’re uninformed.  But because they legally cannot enter the public debate.”  Read the entire commentary HERE

The Autocrat’s Accusation: 
The Deadly Politics of Calling Americans Traitors

Prominent anthropologist James B. Goldberg, Professor Emeritus at the University of Arizona used his daily blog to explore “How Trump’s expanding use of the word traitor reveals a governing strategy, erodes democratic norms, and exposes Americans to rising political danger.”

“There is a reason autocrats reach so quickly for the word traitor. It does something ordinary political language cannot. It collapses disagreement into danger, opposition into betrayal, and citizens into enemies of the state. In Trump’s hands, the accusation has become a method of rule: a way of sorting Americans into the loyal and the disloyal, the protected and the exposed. Its power lies not only in what it claims, but in what it makes possible.” Read Dr. Greenberg’s column HERE