Goose and gander… Someday soon, when this crap show is over and normalcy has returned, and Hegseth is no longer in his position, let's return him to the military to face court martial for his act against the constitution and the rule of law.
I worry less about Hegseth than I worry about the people around us who have placed such people at the apogee of our power.
In North Carolina, people elected a man decisively who said gay people were filth. In Tennessee, the female vote delivered a win for a woman opposed to The Violence Against Women Act.
I remain flabbergasted by such men and women, many of whom are neighbors.
We are scraping the bottom of the barrel and poisoning ourselves. In Noah Feldman's column in my local paper today he wrote about the failure of our system of checks and balances to stop Trump's unconstitutional and dangerous actions involving ICE. His final two paragraphs:
"All of these problems ultimately can be traced back to us.
We elected Trunp (twice); we have a Supreme Court where his nominees hold the balance of power; and Congress is made up of people we put there."
This is exactly right. There is this tendency to view things like a separate universe. Some of the strangest, most corrupt people in the country (Pam Bondi and Kristi Noem, for instance) held elective positions. Neither Bondi nor Noem have ever lost an election. Not good.
Any person with at least one functioning neuron in their head could / should be able to see the BS for what it is. And, that is total 100% BS. Gay people are filth? Vote against protecting women ( who are your wives, sisters, nieces, aunts, cousins, friends ) ?
WTF? Really?
You’re 100% correct in the fact that Hegseth is the fruit not the root of the problem. The root of the problem is the blatant stupidity and cult-like thinking they display and how they vote.
Thank You Steve...I would like to see more former officials speaking out. Presidents, Generals ,and anyone else with influence. I keep thinking that maybe they are waiting for the right time. So many attacks against solid Americans .. I sent a donation to Mark Kelly. He was an astronaut.. Christ ..
What is happening to Ukraine is driving me crazy. I feel so helpless . Even Joe sucked when it came to supporting them.. Of course he was nothing like the shit head but I think this could have been over long ago if we had given them the weapons they needed. It's not right we promised to protect them if they gave up there nuclear weapons ..this is how we keep our promises.. Yes and Obama didn't have the red line he said he had.. We have failed Ukraine ..Why are we so afraid of Putin? It's as though we have the economy and power Russia has instead of what we have. In a just world Trump will be forced to watch his ballroom torn down ..the rose garden put back ... All the cheap dollar store gold crap in the Oval office thrown into a dumpster.
And Zelensky will be give every medal and award you can think of.. Trump will be forced to watch him get them....One can dream ... lost in america.
We have that moron Joni Ernst to thank for that. She traded American honor for a few barrels of corn. She is a total disgrace, especially for her, a vet who was sexually assaulted while in the service.
Trump and his fellow abusers will continue to bring shame upon our nation until we finally remove them from office, and the stain of the trump era will only be removed when we make amends for the harm inflicted on our people and principles, and institute reforms prevent any future repetition.
Steve, I saw you on MSNOW yesterday, great segment. And while I agree 100%, should we have expected a different result?
Hegseth, like the rest of Trump’s clown car cabinet, are just the bright shiny objects. They certainly weren’t picked for the bonafides or qualifications.
Apparently, all you need on your resume is a few years of service as a Fox News talking head; and in Hegseth’s case, a lowly weekend anchor. Even by Trump’s standards (ratings), Hegseth was a lousy pick. Just saying!
Bottom line, what worries me the most is that we have no idea who are the people are running these agencies at every level, because it’s certainly not the cabinet officials. Not even Rubio was allowed to bring his own staff. Everything I’ve heard is the deputies were all appointed by Heritage; and that in itself should be enough to pull the alarm! IMHO…:)
Trump Labels Those Who Refuse to Obey Illegal Orders as "Traitors" "Punishable By Death".
In response to six U.S. Senators and Congressmen with military or intelligence experience advising members of the military that "Our laws are clear, you can refuse illegal orders. You must refuse illegal orders" and that their oath is to the Constitution and not to unfettered individual authority, Trump reacted by accusing them of "serious allegations of misconduct" subject to court-marshal proceedings and accused them of seditious behavior , calling them "traitors" and claiming that they should be "arrested and put on trial" for "seditious behavior" which is "punishable by death".
Trump has a short memory. It was only a few years ago that he launched an armed and violent attack on the Capitol to overturn Biden's legitimate election as President of the United States.
International court decisions, beginning with the Nuremberg trials, United Nations principles and the laws and decisions within the United States , among other countries, are replete with citations to court cases, military codes and humanitarian principles that the illegality of a law or order is not only a defense to refusing to follow such law or order but imposes an affirmative duty to refuse to comply with an unlawful law or order.
There is so much legal and ethical support for these duties to refuse to comply with illegal laws or duties that it would take volumes to cite them.
Instead, I have chosen the easy way out by relying on the below citations, compiled by ChatGPT, that set forth these principles which fully support the call by these courageous Senators and Congressmen to uphold the law and our moral principles:
Here are the key Nuremberg and other legal decisions that firmly established the principle that “just following orders” (the “superior orders defense”) is not a valid defense when the orders are manifestly illegal.
[A fuller listing, especially if this is truncated, may be found in the Posting I sent out today and which may be found o my Substack home page]
Nuremberg Trials (1945–1946)
International Military Tribunal (IMT)
The IMT at Nuremberg was the foundational decision rejecting “just following orders.”
Article 8 of the IMT Charter explicitly states:
The fact that the defendant acted pursuant to order of his Government or of a superior shall not free him from responsibility…” But it may be considered in mitigation.
The tribunal repeatedly held:
“Moral choice was possible.”
Key Nuremberg Findings
High-ranking Nazis (e.g., Keitel, Jodl, Göring) were convicted even when they argued they were following Hitler’s commands.
In the Hostage Case, Einsatzgruppen Case, and others, defendants were told that an order to commit atrocities is manifestly unlawful, and no soldier is obligated to obey such orders.
Nuremberg Principle IV (1950)
The United Nations codified Nuremberg’s rule as Principle IV:
“A person acting pursuant to orders of his government or a superior does not relieve him from responsibility under international law, provided a moral choice was in fact possible to him.”
This is now one of the most cited international rules on command responsibility.
U.S. Supreme Court
Little v. Barreme, 6 U.S. (2 Cranch) 170, 179 (1804)
Chief Justice Marshall:
“The instructions cannot change the nature of the transaction… the officer was liable for obeying an unlawful order.”
Parker v. Levy, 417 U.S. 733, 754 (1974)
“The military constitutes a specialized society… but obedience is required only to lawful orders.”
In re Yamashita, 327 U.S. 1, 14–16 (1946)
“The law of war imposes on an army commander a duty to take such measures as are within his power to prevent… violations of the laws of war.”
(Not an obedience-case per se, but establishes individual responsibility regardless of superior directives.)
II. U.S. Military Courts / UCMJ
United States v. Calley (My Lai), 46 C.M.R. 1131 (C.M.A. 1973)
“The order to kill unresisting civilians is a manifestly illegal order and provides no defense.”
United States v. Keenan, 18 C.M.A. 108, 39 C.M.R. 108 (1969)
“A soldier is a reasoning agent, and he must refuse to obey a manifestly unlawful order.”
Manual for Courts-Martial (MCM), R.C.M. 916(d)
“It is a defense that the accused obeyed an order not manifestly unlawful… An order to commit a crime is manifestly unlawful.”
UCMJ Articles 90 & 92 (10 U.S.C. §§ 890, 892)
Implicit but controlling rule:
Only lawful orders are enforceable under Articles 90 and 92.
The High Command Case (Nuremberg Subsequent Trials, 1948)
Defendants argued they were following Hitler’s orders. The tribunal held:
“There is a positive duty to disobey illegal orders.”
It also said that soldiers must recognize grossly unlawful orders, especially involving killing civilians.
The My Lai Massacre – United States v. Calley (1971)
Lieutenant William Calley argued he was following Captain Medina’s orders to kill civilians in Vietnam.
The military court rejected this defense:
“The order to kill unresisting civilians is a manifestly illegal order. A soldier is not obligated to obey it.”
This remains a major U.S. precedent for the modern UCMJ.
The Eichmann Trial (Israel, 1961)
Adolf Eichmann insisted he was following orders within a hierarchical system.
The court held:
Obedience to orders is not a defense.
Anyone who knowingly participates in atrocities bears personal criminal responsibility.
The Senate gave us Hegseth. The Senate gave us Bob Kennedy. We have a moral imperative to remove and replace the spineless sycophants who allowed this abomination.
Steve, words cannot express how much your article conveyed exactly what I think and feel about this entire situation. Hold-my-beer womanizer & adulterer can't hold a candle to Senator Kelly and isn't even worthy of shining his boots! He's so unqualified, he presents a danger to the men who serve under him & the country's safety itself. I appreciate you and always value your opinion.
Every American should create a video echoing the words of Senator Kelly and the other Members of Congress and post on social media. Let Hegseth and Bondi take millions of patriotic Americans.
I was disgusted with the Republican congressional former military members of pretending they didn't hear the word "illegal" in the video and dared take part in their own video lambasting the brave six who have not forgotten their oath of office and of the UCMJ.
Goose and gander… Someday soon, when this crap show is over and normalcy has returned, and Hegseth is no longer in his position, let's return him to the military to face court martial for his act against the constitution and the rule of law.
I worry less about Hegseth than I worry about the people around us who have placed such people at the apogee of our power.
In North Carolina, people elected a man decisively who said gay people were filth. In Tennessee, the female vote delivered a win for a woman opposed to The Violence Against Women Act.
I remain flabbergasted by such men and women, many of whom are neighbors.
We are scraping the bottom of the barrel and poisoning ourselves. In Noah Feldman's column in my local paper today he wrote about the failure of our system of checks and balances to stop Trump's unconstitutional and dangerous actions involving ICE. His final two paragraphs:
"All of these problems ultimately can be traced back to us.
We elected Trunp (twice); we have a Supreme Court where his nominees hold the balance of power; and Congress is made up of people we put there."
This is exactly right. There is this tendency to view things like a separate universe. Some of the strangest, most corrupt people in the country (Pam Bondi and Kristi Noem, for instance) held elective positions. Neither Bondi nor Noem have ever lost an election. Not good.
It’s all a cancer in our country. We are deeply infiltrated with it and it will be like whack-a-mole to process them out.
It’s conspiracy theory like stupidity isn’t it?
Any person with at least one functioning neuron in their head could / should be able to see the BS for what it is. And, that is total 100% BS. Gay people are filth? Vote against protecting women ( who are your wives, sisters, nieces, aunts, cousins, friends ) ?
WTF? Really?
You’re 100% correct in the fact that Hegseth is the fruit not the root of the problem. The root of the problem is the blatant stupidity and cult-like thinking they display and how they vote.
Thank You Steve...I would like to see more former officials speaking out. Presidents, Generals ,and anyone else with influence. I keep thinking that maybe they are waiting for the right time. So many attacks against solid Americans .. I sent a donation to Mark Kelly. He was an astronaut.. Christ ..
What is happening to Ukraine is driving me crazy. I feel so helpless . Even Joe sucked when it came to supporting them.. Of course he was nothing like the shit head but I think this could have been over long ago if we had given them the weapons they needed. It's not right we promised to protect them if they gave up there nuclear weapons ..this is how we keep our promises.. Yes and Obama didn't have the red line he said he had.. We have failed Ukraine ..Why are we so afraid of Putin? It's as though we have the economy and power Russia has instead of what we have. In a just world Trump will be forced to watch his ballroom torn down ..the rose garden put back ... All the cheap dollar store gold crap in the Oval office thrown into a dumpster.
And Zelensky will be give every medal and award you can think of.. Trump will be forced to watch him get them....One can dream ... lost in america.
We have that moron Joni Ernst to thank for that. She traded American honor for a few barrels of corn. She is a total disgrace, especially for her, a vet who was sexually assaulted while in the service.
Trump and his fellow abusers will continue to bring shame upon our nation until we finally remove them from office, and the stain of the trump era will only be removed when we make amends for the harm inflicted on our people and principles, and institute reforms prevent any future repetition.
Steve, I saw you on MSNOW yesterday, great segment. And while I agree 100%, should we have expected a different result?
Hegseth, like the rest of Trump’s clown car cabinet, are just the bright shiny objects. They certainly weren’t picked for the bonafides or qualifications.
Apparently, all you need on your resume is a few years of service as a Fox News talking head; and in Hegseth’s case, a lowly weekend anchor. Even by Trump’s standards (ratings), Hegseth was a lousy pick. Just saying!
Bottom line, what worries me the most is that we have no idea who are the people are running these agencies at every level, because it’s certainly not the cabinet officials. Not even Rubio was allowed to bring his own staff. Everything I’ve heard is the deputies were all appointed by Heritage; and that in itself should be enough to pull the alarm! IMHO…:)
I became emotional when I read the news about Senator Kelly. When is enough, enough.
"I Was Only Following Orders"
Trump Labels Those Who Refuse to Obey Illegal Orders as "Traitors" "Punishable By Death".
In response to six U.S. Senators and Congressmen with military or intelligence experience advising members of the military that "Our laws are clear, you can refuse illegal orders. You must refuse illegal orders" and that their oath is to the Constitution and not to unfettered individual authority, Trump reacted by accusing them of "serious allegations of misconduct" subject to court-marshal proceedings and accused them of seditious behavior , calling them "traitors" and claiming that they should be "arrested and put on trial" for "seditious behavior" which is "punishable by death".
Trump has a short memory. It was only a few years ago that he launched an armed and violent attack on the Capitol to overturn Biden's legitimate election as President of the United States.
International court decisions, beginning with the Nuremberg trials, United Nations principles and the laws and decisions within the United States , among other countries, are replete with citations to court cases, military codes and humanitarian principles that the illegality of a law or order is not only a defense to refusing to follow such law or order but imposes an affirmative duty to refuse to comply with an unlawful law or order.
There is so much legal and ethical support for these duties to refuse to comply with illegal laws or duties that it would take volumes to cite them.
Instead, I have chosen the easy way out by relying on the below citations, compiled by ChatGPT, that set forth these principles which fully support the call by these courageous Senators and Congressmen to uphold the law and our moral principles:
Here are the key Nuremberg and other legal decisions that firmly established the principle that “just following orders” (the “superior orders defense”) is not a valid defense when the orders are manifestly illegal.
[A fuller listing, especially if this is truncated, may be found in the Posting I sent out today and which may be found o my Substack home page]
Nuremberg Trials (1945–1946)
International Military Tribunal (IMT)
The IMT at Nuremberg was the foundational decision rejecting “just following orders.”
Article 8 of the IMT Charter explicitly states:
The fact that the defendant acted pursuant to order of his Government or of a superior shall not free him from responsibility…” But it may be considered in mitigation.
The tribunal repeatedly held:
“Moral choice was possible.”
Key Nuremberg Findings
High-ranking Nazis (e.g., Keitel, Jodl, Göring) were convicted even when they argued they were following Hitler’s commands.
In the Hostage Case, Einsatzgruppen Case, and others, defendants were told that an order to commit atrocities is manifestly unlawful, and no soldier is obligated to obey such orders.
Nuremberg Principle IV (1950)
The United Nations codified Nuremberg’s rule as Principle IV:
“A person acting pursuant to orders of his government or a superior does not relieve him from responsibility under international law, provided a moral choice was in fact possible to him.”
This is now one of the most cited international rules on command responsibility.
U.S. Supreme Court
Little v. Barreme, 6 U.S. (2 Cranch) 170, 179 (1804)
Chief Justice Marshall:
“The instructions cannot change the nature of the transaction… the officer was liable for obeying an unlawful order.”
Parker v. Levy, 417 U.S. 733, 754 (1974)
“The military constitutes a specialized society… but obedience is required only to lawful orders.”
In re Yamashita, 327 U.S. 1, 14–16 (1946)
“The law of war imposes on an army commander a duty to take such measures as are within his power to prevent… violations of the laws of war.”
(Not an obedience-case per se, but establishes individual responsibility regardless of superior directives.)
II. U.S. Military Courts / UCMJ
United States v. Calley (My Lai), 46 C.M.R. 1131 (C.M.A. 1973)
“The order to kill unresisting civilians is a manifestly illegal order and provides no defense.”
United States v. Keenan, 18 C.M.A. 108, 39 C.M.R. 108 (1969)
“A soldier is a reasoning agent, and he must refuse to obey a manifestly unlawful order.”
Manual for Courts-Martial (MCM), R.C.M. 916(d)
“It is a defense that the accused obeyed an order not manifestly unlawful… An order to commit a crime is manifestly unlawful.”
UCMJ Articles 90 & 92 (10 U.S.C. §§ 890, 892)
Implicit but controlling rule:
Only lawful orders are enforceable under Articles 90 and 92.
The High Command Case (Nuremberg Subsequent Trials, 1948)
Defendants argued they were following Hitler’s orders. The tribunal held:
“There is a positive duty to disobey illegal orders.”
It also said that soldiers must recognize grossly unlawful orders, especially involving killing civilians.
The My Lai Massacre – United States v. Calley (1971)
Lieutenant William Calley argued he was following Captain Medina’s orders to kill civilians in Vietnam.
The military court rejected this defense:
“The order to kill unresisting civilians is a manifestly illegal order. A soldier is not obligated to obey it.”
This remains a major U.S. precedent for the modern UCMJ.
The Eichmann Trial (Israel, 1961)
Adolf Eichmann insisted he was following orders within a hierarchical system.
The court held:
Obedience to orders is not a defense.
Anyone who knowingly participates in atrocities bears personal criminal responsibility.
Thanks for assembling this list. It should be scrolling across the screens of every news outlet.
Thanks Jill.
The Senate gave us Hegseth. The Senate gave us Bob Kennedy. We have a moral imperative to remove and replace the spineless sycophants who allowed this abomination.
Steve, words cannot express how much your article conveyed exactly what I think and feel about this entire situation. Hold-my-beer womanizer & adulterer can't hold a candle to Senator Kelly and isn't even worthy of shining his boots! He's so unqualified, he presents a danger to the men who serve under him & the country's safety itself. I appreciate you and always value your opinion.
Every American should create a video echoing the words of Senator Kelly and the other Members of Congress and post on social media. Let Hegseth and Bondi take millions of patriotic Americans.
I was disgusted with the Republican congressional former military members of pretending they didn't hear the word "illegal" in the video and dared take part in their own video lambasting the brave six who have not forgotten their oath of office and of the UCMJ.
They know better and should have done better.
POP QUIZ: After promising to quit drinking, how many drinks has Pete Hegseth actually snuck in since taking the job 305 days ago? At least:
a) 1 b) 5 c) Judging by his actions, 305. d) Does red or white pair best with turkey?
Steve, appreciate your disgust for Hogsbreath which I share, but I do know LGen (ret)
Mark Hertling has indeed spoken up supporting Sen Kelly and the others with a great essay on difference in oaths of officers and enlisted.
You had me at “This is ‘The Warning’”.❤️
One of your best. This needs to be shared widely. It makes me ill to think these "men" make life and death decisions.