Alarmed senior officers of the United States Armed Forces are preparing to resist President Donald Trump should he declare martial law to perpetuate himself in power.
Constitutional experts contend a declaration of martial law would be equivalent to a coup d'etat, an event that's never occurred in U.S. history. The U.S. military is sworn to defend the U.S. Constitution and not the president of the country, or even the United States itself.
Gen. Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff, made his dedication to the constitution perfectly clear in November.
"We are unique among militaries," stated Milley.
"We do not take an oath to a king or a queen, a tyrant, or a dictator. We do not take an oath to an individual. No, we do not take an oath to a country, a tribe, or religion. We take an oath to the Constitution. And every soldier that is represented in this museum, every sailor, airman, Marine, Coast Guardsman, each of us will protect and defend that document, regardless of personal price."
His peers share Milley's views.
"There is no role for the U.S. military in determining the outcome of an American election," said Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy and Army Chief of Staff General James McConville in a joint statement.
Various U.S. media outlets are now reporting intense discussions among leaders of the military's six-armed services as to what the armed services will do should Trump illegally declare martial law despite Joe Biden already having been declared president by the Electoral College.
U.S. military leaders are preparing for the unknown, and the Pentagon is on red alert for the martial law eventuality, said Newsweek. Senior officers are said to have discussed what they will do if Trump decides to declare martial law.
"I've been associated with the military for over 40 years, and I've never seen the discussions that are being had right now, the need for such discussions," said a senior officer quoted by Newsweek.
Another officer said much the same thing, adding, "there's no telling what the president might do in the next month. Though I'm confident that the uniformed military leadership has their heads screwed on right, the craziness is unprecedented, and the possibilities are endless."
Senior officers agree there is zero chance the military leadership will involve itself in any scheme to reverse the verified election results. They worry about Trump calling armed right-wing militias and pro-Trump paramilitaries to disrupt the transition and bring violence to Washington D.C.
National security and election law experts agree there is no legal basis for Trump declaring martial law but remain alarmed by the possibility he's still considering this option.
"This is perilous stuff to start playing with," according to Rachel Kleinfeld, a national security expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
"You cannot normalize extrajudicial action outside the rule of law and believe democracy will hold. Democracies are fragile, even ours. If you have martial law, you have total suspension of the Constitution. So that's a coup, and a coup in this country is not going to happen."
