From the moment a group of Congressional Democrats known as the "Seditious Six" released a video encouraging active duty service members to ignore orders they believed were illegal, it seems that every Democrat is now an authority of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).
Sens. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Mark Kelly (Arizona), along with Reps. Jason Crow (Colorado), Maggie Goodlander (New Hampshire), and Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan, both of Pennsylvania claimed that "threats to our Constitution" are coming "from right here at home," and repeatedly urged military and intelligence personnel to “refuse illegal orders."
At about the same time, billboards began popping up around the country urging national guardsmen to disobey any orders coming from the Trump administration.
However, the military hadn’t issued a single “illegal” order, and encouraging active duty military personnel to disobey orders was ill-advised at best.
After they released their video, Sen. Kelly repeated the "illegal order" claim without giving any examples, while Rep. Crow was asked four times to name a single illegal order, but couldn’t.
MS NOW (formerly MSNBC) pushed Goodlander to name what orders she and her colleagues were urging service members to disregard, and couldn’t name one.
When ABC News asked Slotkin for examples, she cited the post-WWII Nuremberg trials and the feature film, "A Few Good Men," but nothing from the Trump administration.
But in recent days Democrats have latched onto the targeting of drug runners, what the administration calls "narco-terrorists," who traffic drugs from South America using high-speed open watercraft.
The administration has released numerous videos depicting the boats being blown up, taking the drugs and the narco-terrorists down with them.
The dissent over the killings rose in pitch with cries of "war crime" when the public got wind of a so-called "double-tap" killing of drug traffickers.
The strike left several narco-terrorists still alive, and sometime later a second strike took out the survivors. The Washington Post reported that War Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized the second strike on a helpless crew with a "kill them all" order.
However, Admiral Mitch Bradley played video of the strike to Congress yesterday and testified that Hegseth had nothing to do with approving the second strike, which confirmed a news report from the night before by ABC News’ Martha Raddatz.
She blew the "double-tap" theory out of the water, so to speak.
"And tonight, new information: According to a source familiar with the incident, the two survivors climbed back onto the boat after the initial strike.
"They were believed to be potentially in communication with others, and salvaging some of the drugs," Raddatz said.
"Because of that, it was determined they were still in the fight and valid targets. A JAG officer was also giving legal advice.
"So, again, David, that video will be key and Admiral Bradley will be on the Hill tomorrow behind closed doors."
So it was a JAG officer, someone specializing in military law, the UCMJ, and with full understanding of what constitutes a war crime, who approved the second strike — not the Secretary of War.
Although the strike had prior JAG officer approval, the video released by the “Seditious Six” congressional Democrats did not, but probably should have. It was, however, reviewed by a military legal specialist after the fact.
Former Marine Captain Haley Fuller wrote a piece for Military.com, in which she said that although it may not have been illegal to release the video, it was misguided because it would sow confusion and division within the ranks.
"Many argued the messaging was vague. The lawmakers did not identify any specific order they believed might be unlawful, nor did they offer examples illustrating what troops should or should not obey," Fuller wrote.
"Without context, the phrase ‘refuse illegal orders’ can blur the line between legitimate legal instruction and political signaling. For a system that depends on discipline, clarity and stability, ambiguity is a real problem."
Trump was also blasted for authorizing the use of military force to take out drug traffickers. However, in 1989 a Senate Democrat called upon then-President George H.W. Bush to do precisely that, referring to them as "narco-terrorists."
"Let's go after the drug lords where they live with an international strike force. There must be no safe haven for these narco-terrorists and they must know it," said then-Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware.
Also, Barack Obama killed hundreds of terrorists using drones during his presidency, including a U.S. citizen in 2011.
The point is, just because you strongly dislike someone, doesn't mean they're not playing by the book.
And you should never allow your own hatred to cloud your thinking to the point where you don't seek professional advice before embarking on something new and untried.
Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and is a frequent contributor to Newsmax. He's also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and a Second Amendment supporter. Read Michael Dorstewitz's Reports — More Here.
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