WASHINGTON, D.C. — Fallout continues this week on Capitol Hill nearly two weeks after a handful of Democratic lawmakers released a video telling active service members and intelligence officials to “refuse unlawful orders.”
The 90-second video features Democratic veterans and former intelligence officials who say the message was meant to serve as a reminder to service members. The video comes in the wake of National Guard deployment in the U.S. and dozens of targeted strikes at sea.
“Less than a week of us doing this video- which we didn’t think was was anything other than restating the Uniform Code of Military Justice- we now have a situation where Democrats and Republicans are questioning what they’re hearing about the striking of survivors floating in the water,” said Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., referring to the second boat strike in the Caribbean on Sep. 2 during an interview with CNN on Tuesday.
Republicans slammed the video immediately after its release.
“Violating orders while in combat can lead to the death of fellow service members. Violating orders while undergoing training for combat can also create extremely dangerous conditions. Violating orders relating to administrative tasks can lead to negative performance evaluations,” said Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Mich., in a recent statement shared on social media. “All in all, this was deplorable advice for our service members,” the retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant general added.
However, the clash escalated sharply after President Donald Trump called the lawmakers’ actions “seditious behavior.”
“It’s called SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL,” one post read. “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” Trump said in another.
In recent days, the Democratic members who published the video say those comments have led to rising threats — and additional security for the members as a result. The controversy grew further last week when Sen. Slotkin — a former CIA officer — said the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division “appeared to open an inquiry” into her after the president criticized the video.
Slotkin said the response proves the point the Democrats were trying to make in the video.
“He believes in using the federal government against his perceived adversaries. And he’s not afraid to use the arms of the government against people he disagrees with,” said Sen. Slotkin in a recent video shared on social media. “He does not believe the law applies to him. He has said that every which way to Sunday, which is exactly why we made the video- to give people some assurance that they weren’t alone as they watched this stuff unfold.”
Democrats have consistently defended the video, saying service members swear an oath to the Constitution, not to any one individual. However, in the video, the group of Democrats did not point to a specific order they characterize as “unlawful.”
The White House has said repeatedly that all orders given to troops have been lawful.
