America’s former defence secretaries sound the alarm over Trump
The president’s desperate effort to overturn the election raises fears that he will try to suborn the armed forces
DICK CHENEY—vice-president to George W. Bush, architect of the Iraq war and a pantomime villain for liberals—is an unlikely candidate to lead a bipartisan charge against President Donald Trump. Yet it was Mr Cheney who corralled all ten living former defence secretaries in an extraordinary open letter published in the Washington Post on January 3rd.
“Efforts to involve the US armed forces in resolving election disputes would take us into dangerous, unlawful and unconstitutional territory,” they warned. “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 letter is the crest of a wave of concern among Democrats and Republicans over Mr Trump’s opposition to a peaceful transition of power to President-elect Joe Biden, who is due to be sworn into office on January 20th.
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