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“The situation of this unbalanced president could not be more dangerous, and we must do all we can to protect the American people from their unbalanced assault on our country and our democracy,” she added.
Milley’s spokesperson Col. Dave Butler said Pelosi made the appeal with the president. “He answered his questions regarding the nuclear command authority process.”
Congressional Democrats and some Republicans are calling for Trump’s impeachment – either through action by Vice President Mike Pence and the Cabinet or through the Congressional impeachment process – after the Commander-in-Chief instigates his supporters to breach the Capitol American.
The riot led to the evacuation of lawmakers, delayed official certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory over Trump, and left five people dead, including a Capitol Hill police officer.
Trump’s 25th Amendment impeachment is a long blow, with two cabinet secretaries tendering their resignations following the violence on Capitol Hill. Instead, Democrats are preparing to act to impeach Trump next week.
In her letter, Pelosi said that she and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer contacted Pence without a response, adding that they “still hope to hear from him as soon as possible with a positive response to see if he and the Cabinet will honor their oath to the Constitution. “
“If the President does not leave office imminently and voluntarily, Congress will continue our action,” she added.
Many progressive lawmakers have pushed for legislation that would limit the president’s power to launch a nuclear strike – including requiring additional officials to approve a launch and making “no first use of nuclear weapons” official state policy -United.
Some Democrats have also warned of Trump’s politicization of the military and expressed concerns ahead of the November election that the commander-in-chief could inappropriately use the military, nationally or internationally, for the purpose. influence the elections or stay in power.
The process of launching a nuclear strike does not follow the typical military decision-making chain of command that requires the participation and approval of many officials. Instead, the process is put in place to move forward as quickly as possible so that military officers can execute a decision that only the president can make.
The infrastructure to launch an attack is carried in a heavy black case, called “football,” which a military aide carries wherever the president goes. Inside is communications equipment to allow the president to speak to the national military command center, a sealed package with a piece of paper inside called a “cookie” that contains an authentication code to certify that the order comes from the president, and a brochure base of pre-established military responses. The simplicity of the set-up is designed for the president to make a decision in minutes.
The initiation processes are meant to happen so quickly that there is no questioning or cancellation of an attack once the decision is sent.
General John Hyten, now the country’s No.2 military officer, told an audience at a military forum in 2017 that the leaders would not obey an illegal order. He also explained how the process works.
“What if it’s illegal, guess what’s going to happen?” I’ll say, “Mr. President, this is illegal. And guess what he’s gonna do? He’s going to say, “What would be legal?” And we’ll come up with options, a combination of capabilities to respond to whatever the situation is, and that’s how it works. It’s not that hard.
Retired General Colin Powell, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, has warned of introducing nuclear codes into the discussion of Trump and his dying days.
“We’ve seen him do some crazy things, but don’t start hanging around things like nuclear codes,” he said on the “Today” show on Friday. “I was the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and I can tell you with certainty that if something like this happened and someone suddenly said, ‘We want to use a nuclear weapon’, they wouldn’t. would never come close. “
Lara Seligman contributed to this report.
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