WATCH: Dem Senator Who Inspired Army To Disobey Trump Backtracks, Fails To Listing Any ‘Illegal’ Orders
Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), one of the Democrat lawmakers who appeared in a controversial video in which participants suggested that military service members should disobey President Donald Trump, conceded Sunday that she was not aware of any “illegal” orders issued by the president.
The controversy erupted earlier this week when Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and a number of House Democrats, all of whom have backgrounds in the military or intelligence community, released a video in which they urged military personnel to disobey “illegal” orders.
“We know you are under enormous stress and pressure right now, Americans trust their military, but that trust is at risk. This administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens like us. You all swore an oath to protect and defend this constitution,” the lawmakers said in the video.
“Right now, the threats to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but from right here at home. Our laws are clear,” they added. “You can refuse illegal orders…you must refuse illegal orders. No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our constitution.”
While speaking with ABC News host Martha Raddatz on Sunday, Slotkin was asked about the video and whether she could elaborate on the “illegal” orders she and her colleagues were supposedly objecting to. “So, let’s talk right now. Do you believe President Trump has issued any illegal orders?” Raddatz asked.
“To my knowledge, I — 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,” the senator responded, conceding that she was unable to point to any “illegal” orders.
Elsewhere in the interview, Slotkin was asked about the potential of criminal, or military prosecution as a result of the interview. President Donald Trump has repeatedly referred to the lawmakers’ conduct as “seditious” and called for investigations.
“Well, if you look at sedition, if you look at, uh, you know, that type of, it’s a form of a very strong form of being a traitor. It’s a terrible thing to say. I must tell you, I heard it and I thought it was some kind of a comedy situation. I thought that would, you know, it was some kind of a skit and cause I couldn’t believe that they’d say it,” Trump told Fox News earlier this week.
Deputy attorney general Todd Blanche has also suggested that the Justice Department will be investigating the matter, while Trump has stated that War Secretary Pete Hegseth will also be determining whether they can face prosecution in “military courts.”
Slotkin responded to the president’s comments by claiming that he is “weaponizing” the Justice Department against his adversaries. “We’ve seen him do this many times with many different people already. Again, this is a tool of fear. He’s trying to get us to shut up because he doesn’t want to be talking about this,” she responded.
The senator went on to claim that Trump is trying to “distract” from the “Epstein files,” at which point Raddatz pointed out that she and her colleagues also “changed the subject” with their video.