WASHINGTON — As President Donald Trump threatens a genocidal attack on Iran, Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) said it is “moments like these” when U.S. service members must remember their oath to the Constitution and their duty to refuse illegal orders from superiors.
Slotkin, a former CIA officer, was one of six military and intelligence members of Congress who appeared in a viral November video urging service members not to follow future orders that violate laws. “Don’t give up the ship,” the lawmakers pleaded in the video.
That video was made for the situation we’re in now, she said Tuesday.
“I know that our service members up and down the chain of command know their duty and the law to refuse illegal orders. Even as the Commander-in-Chief tells the world otherwise,” Slotkin wrote on social media. “It’s moments like these that are why we made the video to service members last year. And I hope and believe our troops — especially those in command — will have the moral clarity to push back if they are given clearly illegal orders.”
Her comments come hours after Trump threatened that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran doesn’t open the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday night.
