This guy’s got guts. His oath is to the Constitution. This must put his immediate superiors in an uncomfortable situation.
“His oath is to the Constitution. This must put his immediate superiors in an uncomfortable situation.”
He does have a point...
An unlawful leader cannot give a lawful order. And an Officer is not required to follow an unlawful order.
The War Crimes trials of the Nazi’s and the Japanese made that precedent perfectly clear.
< His oath is to the Constitution.>
Absolutely correct. Commissioned Officers swear no allegiance to the President or Commander-In-Chief.
Here’s how this could play out:
The Lieutenant may be charged with disrespect and go to Article 15, Nonjudicial Punishment which is an ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING.
When the Regiment or Battalion Commander asks if he will accept NONJUDICIAL PUNISHMENT, the Lieutenant says “No Sir, I request a Trial By Court-Martial.” Charges will be “preferred” by the Regt/Bn CO for a Special Court-Martial. If the Lt’s Commanding General is involved in the Article 15, again the Lt will be very wise to request a Trial by Court-Martial. Then the General would “prefer” the charges for a General Court-Martial.
During the trial, the Defense Attorney, JAG and/or a private attorney at the Lieutenant’s cost, will, in the defense of his client REQUEST ALL VITAL AND PERTINENT RECORDS OF THE PRESIDENT IN ORDER TO DISPOSE OF THE CHARGES AGAINST HIS CLIENT.
If I were the Lt, I would have a military counsel, a private counsel AND A PERSONAL PUBLICIST to keep all information about the case “in the light of day” and to get ready for a good book deal, because it’s going to happen, in my opinion.
This will get interesting. What say you, former JAGs?
YES.