“He was not allowed to challenge the lawfulness of his orders...”
Actually, he stated in court that the orders WERE lawful, and that he was wrong to disobey them. That is tough to appeal.
The court already ruled that his questions of lawfulness were irrelevant prior to the trial ... and we weren't talking about appeals, but civil lawsuits.
He never said that about his deployment orders, if I’m understanding correctly. He pleaded not guilty to that.