Donald Trump opened the floodgates for his sycophants, losing every one of his shits after six Democratic veterans released a video reminding military members that they do not have to follow "illegal orders." In fact, it's a military member's duty to refuse an illegal order. One by one, Republicans have lined up to defend Trump's call for the arrest and execution of the six Democrats.
One of those Republicans is Michigan GOP Rep. Lisa McCain, who told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that the military should "follow your commander-in-chief" because "that's the oath you took."
Fact check: The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) clarifies that military members must follow lawful orders but are required to disobey unlawful orders, and that's part of the oath service members take to uphold the Constitution, as codified in the UCMJ. To be clear, military members swear an oath to the U.S. Constitution, not to the president.
But anyway.
"To be precise, Congresswoman, should members of the U.S. military or the intelligence community, for that matter, obey what are clearly illegal orders if, in their mind, what they're being told to do is something illegal?" Blitzer asked. "Should they still go ahead and follow those rules?"
"You're asking an enlisted person for their opinion on what they think is legal or illegal," McClain said. "That's a pretty slippery slope. Wouldn't you agree with that?"
"That's an interpretation," she insisted. "What the president has done is not illegal. I would say, follow the chain of command."
"Follow your commander-in-chief," she continued.. "That's the oath that you took. If you leave everything up to interpretation, you can interpret things one way.
"I could interpret things another way," McClain added. "That is a very dangerous situation to put this nation in."
Reality: The oath that service members take signifies that their ultimate duty is to uphold the Constitution, which is above any single leader. I can't even believe this needs to be said, but the mad king thinks he is above the Constitution.
Still, McClain is unconcerned about Nuremberg trials in the future, saying, "We're a long way from the Nuremberg trials."
I see a fuckton of Republicans being featured in future Nuremberg trials. At some point, everyone who just "followed orders", no matter how illegal they were, will be held accountable. Because this shitshow, like every badly scripted TV show, will have an ending. This won't go on forever. I can't wait for the finale.
