Despite a campaign by Democrats and the establishment media to delegitimize President Donald Trump in the wake of Wednesday’s congressional invasion, Defense Department officials intend to avoid outside pressure and continue to recognize him as commander-in-chief while avoiding involvement in a “military coup,” according to a report on the website of Occidental magazine.
It was widely reported Friday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to restrict the president’s access to the country’s so-called nuclear soccer, which contains the launch codes for America’s vast nuclear arsenal.
Pelosi called Milley and asked him to ignore Trump’s order to use those codes. It’s unclear what initiated the call to Milley. There does not appear to be a specific threat from Trump that suggests the call was politically motivated.
The California Democrat reportedly told Milley that she wanted to limit the president’s response to international threats in the final days of his term.
NPR reported that Pelosi told her Democratic colleagues that she and Milley talked about “available precautions to prevent an unstable president from launching military hostilities or obtaining launch codes and ordering a nuclear strike.
But the Pentagon remained neutral, according to the New York Times.
A statement from Colonel Dave Butler, a spokesman for Milley, confirmed to the Times that the call took place.
“[Milley] answered her questions about the nuclear command authority process,” Butler said.
The newspaper spoke with other Pentagon officials, according to Times reporters David Sanger and Eric Schmidt, who reported that
“They noted that Mr. Trump is still commander in chief; unless he is removed, the military must comply with his lawful orders. While military officials can refuse to carry out orders they believe are illegal – or slow the process by sending those orders for careful legal review – they cannot remove the president from the chain of command. That, the officials say, would amount to a military coup.” Sanger and Schmidt report.
“One of the most worrisome issues for officials is Iran’s announcement that it has begun enriching uranium to 20 percent purity – close to bomb-making quality…” The Times also reports.
Pelosi and other Democrats have used Wednesday’s events at the Capitol to justify going after Trump. After years of intimidation over his mental state, they have said they intend to exact political revenge on Trump in his final days in office.
Democrats have also announced that they plan to impeach the president again, and there are rumors that they may try to use the 25th Amendment to remove him from office with less than two weeks left in his term.
Since Wednesday, other Democratic lawmakers have reportedly put pressure on Milley as well. But for now, the military has reportedly rebuffed their demands and intends to remain neutral on politics.
Trump remains the only person in the administration with the ability to directly order military action and the only one with the discretion to use the nation’s nuclear arsenal. Any attempt to deprive him of the tools to carry out his duty to preside over national security is illegal unless there is an invocation of the 25th Amendment or any order he gives to Pentagon officials is found to be illegal per se.
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