The ten former US Secretaries of Defense currently alive have spoken out against any involvement of the armed forces in the ongoing political transition, in an article published on Sunday by the Washington Post.
The ten former Pentagon chiefs, Ashton Carter, Leon Panetta, William Perry, Dick Cheney, William Cohen, Donald Rumsfeld, Robert Gates, Chuck Hagel, James Mattis and Mark Esper, in this forum called on the Pentagon to commit to a peaceful transfer of power.
• Read also: Trump asks election official to ‘find’ ballots in his name
Their call comes as Congress is due to certify Wednesday that Democrat Joe Biden won the November presidential election and is due to succeed Republican Donald Trump on January 20.
“Efforts to involve the American armed forces in the resolution of electoral disputes would lead us into dangerous, illegal and unconstitutional territory”, say the signatories, two of whom, MM. Mattis and Esper, were appointed to the Pentagon by Donald Trump.
They say officials who seek to involve the armed forces in the transition process could face serious professional and legal consequences.
While Congress must proceed on January 6 with the certification of the result of the presidential election, Donald Trump continues to affirm that it is he who won the election and that the victory of Joe Biden, recognized by the large voters, has been obtained by fraud.
Several dozen appeals by the Trump camp against the election results have been dismissed by US courts in recent months.
Former Defense Secretaries note that with the exception of the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, followed by secession from the southern slave states and civil war, the United States holds a record number peaceful transitions.
“This year shouldn’t be an exception,” they say.
The signatories do not specifically cite the reason that prompted them to intervene publicly.
But Washington’s political class has recently been troubled by reports from the American media that the possibility of instituting martial law was raised during a meeting at the White House. This information was denied by Donald Trump.
The signatories of the appeal, who come from the two major American political parties, note that challenges to the election results in several states were rejected by the courts and that the votes were certified by the state governors.
They call on Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller and all Defense Department officials to ease the transition to President-elect Biden’s administration.
“They must also refrain from any political action that would undermine the results of the election or jeopardize the success of the new team,” they add.
– .
