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0 pointsquartesixte1y ago0 comments

Because they swear loyalty to the US Constitution, not POTUS, and can refuse to obey unlawful orders.

0 comments

a3n1y ago

Officer's oath swears to protect and defend the Constitution, no mention of the president.

Enlisted oath adds they will obey the orders of the president.

So a president or his intermediary just needs to find the right Master Sergeant. In theory.

But not to worry, there are plenty of authoritarian-friendly colonels available. Their oath doesn't prohibit them from following a president's orders.

Wrinkle: all officers and enlisted are required to refuse illegal orders. But if you do so, you better be right.

Of course, in this new United States that the Supreme Court created this week, summary executions could become a motivational tool.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_States_A...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Uniformed_Serv...

https://www.acslaw.org/expertforum/what-the-law-of-military-...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summary_execution

mrkeen1y ago

This only works if the head of the executive branch doesn't select for loyalty.

bigfishrunning1y ago

The head of the executive branch doesn't select the members of seal team 6

EasyMark1y ago

Maybe not the current ones but as Commander in Chief he absolutely can form Seal Team 7, secretly have them swear complete loyalty to him, and then assassinate whomever he wants. I think you’re sincerely thinking logically about this within the confines of a working democracy, if Trump wins and with this SCOTUS decision, that all goes out the window.

ModernMech1y ago

What’s stopping them from doing so?

1 more reply

pyuser5831y ago

They must refuse to follow unlawful orders. They never get a choice. They always must follow the law. Refusing a lawful order is a crime, and following an unlawful order is a crime. But they never get a choice.

EasyMark1y ago

When someone can pardon you of the crime immediately after you do it, it doesn’t really matter much, especially is you are 100% dedicated to the cause.

pyuser5831y ago

I agree, which is why presidential immunity doesn’t seem like a big change.

mojomark1y ago

You must not have seen "A Few Good Men"

Who ordered that code red? Not LT Weinberg, that's for sure.

gdilla1y ago

but they will comply when the law will back the POTUS and not them.

DEADMINCE1y ago

It's no longer unawful for the commander in chief to consider an opponent a threat to the country and have them killed.

That's the problem.

TeeMassive1y ago

That's not what the judgement says.

ttyprintk1y ago

Citation needed. Now on, we understand that powers granted the President by the Constitution are official. Actions even marginally associated with those powers cannot produce evidence in a court of law.

1 more reply

Hammershaft1y ago

It in Sotomayer's dissenting opinion of the judgement.

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EasyMark1y ago

Sotomayor disagrees with you, as does the current President of the USA, so I dissent your interpretation

1 more reply

DEADMINCE1y ago

Actually, that's exactly what the judgement allows for.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

a3n1y ago

Officer's oath swears to protect and defend the Constitution, no mention of the president.

Enlisted oath adds they will obey the orders of the president.

So a president or his intermediary just needs to find the right Master Sergeant. In theory.

But not to worry, there are plenty of authoritarian-friendly colonels available. Their oath doesn't prohibit them from following a president's orders.

Wrinkle: all officers and enlisted are required to refuse illegal orders. But if you do so, you better be right.

Of course, in this new United States that the Supreme Court created this week, summary executions could become a motivational tool.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_States_A...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Uniformed_Serv...

https://www.acslaw.org/expertforum/what-the-law-of-military-...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summary_execution

mrkeen1y ago

This only works if the head of the executive branch doesn't select for loyalty.

bigfishrunning1y ago

The head of the executive branch doesn't select the members of seal team 6

EasyMark1y ago

ModernMech1y ago

What’s stopping them from doing so?

1 more reply

pyuser5831y ago

EasyMark1y ago

When someone can pardon you of the crime immediately after you do it, it doesn’t really matter much, especially is you are 100% dedicated to the cause.

pyuser5831y ago

I agree, which is why presidential immunity doesn’t seem like a big change.

mojomark1y ago

You must not have seen "A Few Good Men"

Who ordered that code red? Not LT Weinberg, that's for sure.

gdilla1y ago

but they will comply when the law will back the POTUS and not them.

DEADMINCE1y ago

It's no longer unawful for the commander in chief to consider an opponent a threat to the country and have them killed.

That's the problem.

TeeMassive1y ago

That's not what the judgement says.