A small group of defense-minded Democrats, buoyed by broad support from their party, doubled down on their call for troops and intelligence personnel to disobey unlawful orders after President Donald Trump suggested the lawmakers could be imprisoned or executed for what he said was “seditious behavior.”
Sens. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Reps. Jason Crow, D-Colo., Chris Deluzio, D-Pa., Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H., and Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa. — all of whom are veterans or former intelligence officers and members of national security related committees — said in a joint statement Thursday that “no threat, intimidation or call to violence” would dissuade them from defending the Constitution.
“What’s most telling is that the President considers it punishable by death for us to restate the law. Our servicemembers should know that we have their backs as they fulfill their oath to the Constitution and obligation to follow only lawful orders. It is not only the right thing to do, but also our duty,” the group said.
The lawmakers called for Americans to unite and condemn the president’s comments.
“This is a time for moral clarity,” they said. “In these moments, fear is contagious, but so is courage. We will continue to lead and will not be intimidated.”
Trump’s statements, made via a series of Truth Social posts, referred to a video released by the group on Tuesday that appealed to those in the armed forces and intelligence communities to act in accordance with the law if given orders to the contrary.
“Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders,” Kelly said in the video, a refrain echoed by Slotkin and Deluzio.
The lawmakers did not specify what orders, if any, they were referring to.
“This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???” Trump said in one post. “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!,” he said in another.
During a Thursday press briefing following the posts, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump did not want the lawmakers executed, but did want them held accountable for their statements.
“You have sitting members of the United States Congress who conspired together to orchestrate a video message to members of the United States military, to active duty servicemembers, to members of the national security apparatus, encouraging them to defy the president’s lawful orders,” she said.
“The sanctity of our military rests on the chain of command. If that chain of command is broken, it can lead to people getting killed, it can lead to chaos, and that’s what these members of Congress” are essentially encouraging, Leavitt said, and added that the members’ actions could be punishable by law.
Leadership weighs in
There was no immediate pushback to the president’s comments from Republican lawmakers.
To the contrary, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the Democrats’ remarks were inappropriate and dangerous.
When asked if such comments could be punishable by death, Johnson said he would “let others define what it is.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a close ally of Trump, did not address the president’s remarks about imprisonment or death but challenged the group of Democrats to specify what unlawful orders they were referring to.
“As a former Air Force Judge Advocate General, I take the issue of unlawful orders very seriously. I cannot find a single example of an illegal order during this administration, but as a Member of Congress, I believe you owe it to the country to be specific as to which orders you believe are unlawful,” Graham said in a statement.
But Democratic leadership was quick to decry Trump’s rhetoric.
In a statement, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said he condemned Trump’s “dangerous and disgusting death threats” against members of Congress and called on House Republicans to do the same.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the floor that “every time Donald Trump posts things like this, he makes political violence more likely. None of us should tolerate this kind of behavior.”
Schumer said Trump was “lighting a match in a country soaked with political gasoline,” and said that every American, regardless of party, should condemn the comments immediately.
Jeffries said he had been in touch with the House sergeant-at-arms and the Capitol Police to ensure the safety of the lawmakers who were threatened, and called on Trump to delete the “unhinged social media posts and recant the violent rhetoric before he gets someone killed.”
Jacob Fulton contributed to this report.
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