SAN FRANCISCO, January 04, (THEWILL) – Former U.S. defence secretaries have warned against any potential abuse of the military over the results of the presidential election.
A letter jointly signed by all the 10 surviving former Pentagon heads, warned that involving the armed forces would bring the U.S. into “dangerous, illegal and unconstitutional territory”,
The signatories which include officials from both the Republican and Democratic divide, are Dick Cheney, James Mattis, Leon Panetta, Donald Rumsfeld, William Cohen, Chuck Hagel, Robert Gates, William Perry, Ashton Carter and Mark Esper,
“Our elections have occurred, recounts and audits have been conducted. Appropriate challenges have been addressed by the courts and governors have certified the results and the Electoral College has voted, ” the ex- Pentagon chiefs noted, adding,
“The time for questioning the results has passed; the time for the formal counting of the electoral college votes, as prescribed in the Constitution and statute, has arrived.”
President Donald Trump, who lost to Democrat’s Joe Biden in the Nov. 3 election, has refused to admit defeat. He has allegedly claimed that the election was rigged against him.
As Biden is due to be sworn in as new U.S. president on Jan. 20, critics feared that Trump could use the instrumentality of the military, if necessary, to stay in power.
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