1. United States
2. Pa.
3. Letter

It is time for you to come to the defense of your colleagues in the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate who reminded service members that they are duty-bound to refuse illegal orders from their military and civilian superiors. Mr. Trump has reacted on Truth Social in the most horrific manner, accusing them of sedition that’s “punishable by death.” You must not only defend them, but you must immediately and clearly denounce such language by the President of the United States and other members of his administration. These Representatives and Senators all are proud Americans who have served in the Armed Forces or the CIA, and their statement in a video on Tuesday is in line with the oath that all service members take to the Constitution and to the United States of America. Our Armed Forces don’t serve at the behest of a person, and they are duty-bound to refuse orders that would violate the Constitution and laws of the United States. Mr. Trump’s rhetoric and the language and behavior of his Secretary of Defense (and of other senior officials in the Administration and the Department of Defense) make it apparent that they plan to invade or attack Venezuela without Congress declaring a war on that country. That is a clear violation of the Constitution. The recent set of documents from the Administration “justifying” such an attack is based on circular logic and ignores the Constitutional separation of powers. Members of our military who recognize this are duty-bound to refuse to undertake any such illegal (and frankly, immoral) command. Similarly, this Administration continues to follow Mr. Trump’s suggestion that American cities should become “training grounds“ for our military. This is beyond the pale: statements that literally set a goal of attacking American citizens and residents to be “training grounds” for military personnel are immoral, indecent, and illegal. They are the types of statements that only the worst “leaders” in history have used against citizens and residents of their own countries. Any order to participate in such “training” should also be refused by members of the military. You must speak up now — clearly and forcefully — to defend Representatives Chrissy Houlihan, Chris Deluzio, Jason Crew, Maggie Goodlander, and Senators Elissa Slotkin and Mark Kelly. You must also speak up to reject Mr. Trump’s and his Administration’s rhetoric — both related to these Members of Congress and to his plans to use the U.S. military illegally.