The ten former United States Secretary of Defense, Republicans and Democrats, criticize President Donald Trump and his party’s stance on continuing an electoral dispute that “has already been resolved.” They warn of the dangers of such behavior.
Ten living former United States Secretary of Defense have signed a letter ending the presidential election process won by Democrat Joe Biden, while outgoing President Republican Donald Trump continues to deny his electoral defeat in these elections. elections.
Ten former Pentagon heads -8 Republicans and 2 Democrats- who have served with 5 presidents -3 Republicans, 3 Democrats- wrote a letter to Donald Trump’s administration so that it will stop blocking once and for all. hand it over to Joe Biden and accept defeat.
They confirm in the letter that “attempts to involve the armed forces in resolving electoral disputes could lead us into unconstitutional, illegal and dangerous territory.”
See more: Donald Trump’s controversial (illegal) call to change the results in Georgia
The letter, published next Sunday by The Washington Post and collected by other local media outlets, it is being released on the eve of the elections that will decide control over the Senate and after the same newspaper revealed the pressure exerted by the current president to manipulate the election count.
The document is signed by Dick Cheney, James Mattis, Mark Esper, Leon Panetta, Donald Rumsfeld, William Cohen, Chuck Hagel, Robert Gates, William Perry, and Ashton Carter, and aims to attack Trump’s attempts to undermine last November’s presidential election, before Congress counts the votes of the electoral college. What will happen next Wednesday.
“Our elections have been made. Counts and audits have been carried out. The courts have dealt with the relevant challenges. The governors certified the results. And the electoral college has voted. Time has passed to question the results; the time for the formal review of the electoral college’s votes, ”the signatories say in the letter.
As CNN explains, Trump has falsely claimed since election day that his second term is being stolen, even though there are no credible allegations of widespread voting problems, as claimed by dozens of judges, governors, and election officials. , the Electoral College, the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security and the Supreme Court of the United States.
See more: Electoral College recognizes Joe Biden’s election victory
Still, a large number of Republicans in Congress are sided with the president and plan to challenge Biden’s victory at electoral college on Wednesday, something that at best could only delay confirmation of the Democrat’s victory. .
The former defense secretaries, all active and responsible for decades in that position, underline that presidential transitions are “a critical part of the successful transfer of power.”
“They often occur during times of international uncertainty about America’s national security policy and attitudes. They could be a time when the nation is vulnerable to the actions of opponents trying to take advantage of the situation, ”they warn.
The signatories end by urging the Department of Defense to “refrain from any political action” that could undermine election results or harm the transition to a new government.
“We ask them, in the strongest terms, to do what so many generations of Americans have done before them,” they advise in the text, as “this last action is in accordance with the highest traditions and professionalism of the armed forces. United States and the history of the democratic transition in our great country ”.