And if he he had videotape of that nobody in the military would have to do a thing about it either. That’s what I hear you saying. Is that correct?
Whether Lakin disobeyed a lawful order doesn’t depend on whether Obama committed crimes. The reason I bring up that issue is to see how the military has to respond to known crimes. Sounds like you’re saying they don’t have to do anything. If a lower officer knows a higher officer is committing crimes they don’t have to do a thing about it. They don’t have to report it to military justice and they don’t have to report it to civilian law enforcement.
But whether Lakin disobeyed a lawful order depends on whether he was ever GIVEN a lawful order. From what you’re saying, it doesn’t matter who gave the order or their qualifications to give the order, nor does the lawfulness of their order matter whether it is in obedience to an order from a lawful president - such as an order for our military to be in Afghanistan being given by an eligible commander-in-chief.
From what you’re saying I could go tell my nearest troops to waltz across Texas and if they didn’t do it they would be disobeying lawful orders. Doesn’t matter who gave it to them, by what authority they gave it, or whether the command is in line with any higher authority.
I’m sorry, Old Deck Hand, but I just cannot believe that that can be real. If I believe that, I would have to think that the military is a zoo, and that doesn’t fit what I see from the people I’ve known. The people I’ve known have said that EVERYTHING depends of the legitimacy of position that a person has, which is directly related to where they fit in the chain of command. Otherwise why do we HAVE a chain of command?
What I'm saying is that the videotape would have no relevance to Lakin's court-martial. Would anyone in the military have to do something about it? I suppose they'd be obligated to report information of criminal activity to the appropriate civilian authorities, as the president is a civilian. But, the military - to include military investigators and the military justice system - have no statutory authority to investigate civilians. This is why the DoD has established civilian investigative agencies - to do just that.
"From what you’re saying I could go tell my nearest troops to waltz across Texas and if they didn’t do it they would be disobeying lawful orders. Doesn’t matter who gave it to them, by what authority they gave it, or whether the command is in line with any higher authority."
If you think this is the import of what I have said, there is no hope.