Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., explained what types of “unlawful” orders he thinks the U.S. military should not obey when given by President Donald Trump when pressed on the issue Sunday.
In an interview with anchor Margaret Brennan on CBS’ “Face The Nation,” Crow defended the controversial video he and five other Democratic lawmakers put out last week urging U.S. service members and intelligence community personnel to disobey “unlawful” orders from the commander in chief.
When asked what “specifically” those orders would be, Crow gave several hypothetical examples: “Well, send troops into Chicago, send troops in polling stations, kill terrorists’ families, arrest and execute members of Congress, shoot peaceful protesters in Lafayette Square.”
Brennan interjected that Trump “hasn’t done those things.”
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Crow, along with Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., and other Democratic leaders, appeared in a one-minute online video last Tuesday urging military and intelligence community members to consult their consciences and refuse to obey “illegal” orders.
The six lawmakers invoked their prior service while telling their audience that “the threats to our Constitution are coming from right here at home.”
Directly calling out the Trump administration, they added, “This administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community officials against American citizens.”
“You must refuse illegal orders,” the lawmakers declared.
Trump responded to the video on Thursday with a Truth Social post that stated, “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”
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Crow told CBS on Sunday that Trump’s response proved he and his colleagues’ point.
“But it’s also so telling that when members of Congress simply remind service members of the Constitution, and their duty to obey the law — which is not just our right, but it’s our obligation, to do — that he cannot handle that and he resorts to threats of violence and threats of arrest and execution,” he said. “That tells you everything you need to know about Donald Trump’s respect for the Constitution and the rule of law and actually underscores our point.”
Brennan pressed Crow on allegations from House Republicans who are veterans that the Democrats’ video was “corrosive” to the military.
Crow dismissed the critics as “some of Trump’s core supporters,” saying, “they know better.” He also accused them of being dishonest for arguing that the Democratic lawmakers were encouraging people to disobey lawful orders.
“They are simply lying because the truth is unacceptable to them. It’s unacceptable. We want to start a conversation, and we did about the dangerous rhetoric this president is using and the threats that he’s made to use our military in an unlawful way.”
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When Brennan pointed out that Trump had not actually issued any of the orders Crow listed, beyond making comments on social media, the lawmaker insisted it is important to inform troops before they’re faced with an “unlawful” order.
“And if we wait until the moment he gives a manifestly unlawful order to a young soldier, then we have failed them. We have to start that conversation now and get people thinking about the distinction, which is exactly what we did,” Crow said.
During an interview with ABC News anchor Martha Raddatz on Sunday, Slotkin admitted she was unaware of any illegal orders that Trump has so far made to the U.S. military.
“To my knowledge, I am not aware of things that are illegal, but certainly there are some legal gymnastics that are going on with these Caribbean strikes and everything related to Venezuela,” Slotkin said.
