William Cohen, former defense secretary, says ‘we are on the brink of destruction of our democracy’

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Referring to Trump’s repeated and unfounded allegations of fraud and efforts to pressure election officials, Cohen, a Republican who served under President Bill Clinton, told CNN’s Don Lemon that the rule of law must be respected and that Trump’s conduct is actively harming the country.

“This does not bode well for the United States, as we find ourselves on the abyss of destroying our democracy. And so we have to go back to the key principles. You must have the truth in all facets of our life. And if you don’t, you won’t get people’s trust, ”Cohen said on“ CNN Tonight ”.

Trump has repeatedly released false statements following his election defeat to President-elect Joe Biden two months ago, but in recent weeks he has stepped up his attempts to overturn the results. Over the weekend, Trump unsuccessfully pressured the Georgian Secretary of State to “find” votes and suggested that Vice President Mike Pence, in his ceremonial role of overseeing certification by Congress of the electoral college vote, should reject the will of the voters.
“We are seeing the persistence of his corruption. This is not something new. This is how he has operated for most of his life,” Cohen said, referring to Trump’s call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. He called the conduct “not surprising, as astounding as it may be”, and said the president “was engaging in a clear act of criminal misconduct.”
Cohen was among 10 living former defense secretaries who wrote a letter published in the Washington Post over the weekend that stressed that the presidential election has passed and that the tradition of a peaceful transfer of power must follow.

“Our elections have taken place. Recounts and audits have been carried out. The courts have taken up the appropriate challenges. The governors have certified the results. And the electoral college has voted. The time for questioning the results has passed. the time for the formal counting of the votes of the electoral college, as prescribed by the Constitution and the statutes, has arrived, ”wrote the former defense secretaries.

Cohen told Lemon on Monday that although the letter from the Secretaries of Defense was written and published before the release of Trump’s appeal, “this recording only confirms what we’ve been seeing for four years,” Cohen said.

“We are talking about the rule of law and people have to understand: if there is no rule of law, if people are allowed to abuse and abuse it, then we are all in danger”, Cohen added.

CNN’s Paul LeBlanc contributed to this report.

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