Don’t Draw Military Into U.S. Election, Ex-Defense Chiefs Say

(Bloomberg) -- All 10 living former U.S. defense secretaries called for a peaceful transition of power this month and warned that any effort to involve the military in resolving election disputes “would take us into dangerous, unlawful and unconstitutional territory.”

Three days before Congress meets to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, the group, who served Democratic and Republican presidents, evoked the Civil War in a message to President Donald Trump to concede defeat, though it didn’t name him.

Signers included James Mattis, who resigned as Trump’s defense secretary in 2018, and Mark Esper, whom Trump fired in a tweet in November.

“American elections and the peaceful transfers of power that result are hallmarks of our democracy,” the group said in a Washington Post opinion piece. “The time for questioning the results has passed; the time for the formal counting of the electoral college votes, as prescribed in the Constitution and statute, has arrived.”

While Trump has promoted unsubstantiated claims of majo vote fraud, and egged on supporters who plan to rally in Washington on Jan. 6, the former defense leaders focused on calls in some circles to involve the military in overturning the results of the Nov. 3 presidential election. They include Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who asserted last month that Trump has the power to rerun the election in swing states under military supervision.

“Civilian and military officials who direct or carry out such measures would be accountable, including potentially facing criminal penalties, for the grave consequences of their actions on our republic,” the former defense secretaries said.

They called on acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller and his subordinates to cooperate with the Biden transition team.

“They must also refrain from any political actions that undermine the results of the election or hinder the success of the new team,” they said.

The other former defense chiefs backing the opinion piece are Ashton Carter, Dick Cheney, William Cohen, Robert Gates, Chuck Hagel, Leon Panetta, William Perry and Donald Rumsfeld.

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