Ex-US generals, admirals ask Supreme Court not to grant immunity to Trump

Ex-US generals, admirals ask Supreme Court not to grant immunity to Trump

Ukrinform
More than a dozen retired four-star U.S. generals, admirals and other former military leaders filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court on Monday, April 8, arguing against former President Donald Trump's claims of immunity in his criminal cases.

That's according to The Hill, Ukrinform reports.

"The notion of such immunity, both as a general matter, and also specifically in the context of the potential negation of election results, threatens to jeopardize our nation's security and international leadership," the brief reads. "Particularly in times like the present, when anti-democratic, authoritarian regimes are on the rise worldwide, such a threat is intolerable and dangerous."

The group said Trump's claims "would threaten the military's role in American society, our nation's constitutional order, and our national security," and would have a "profoundly negative effects on military service members."

The former president's attorneys have argued that the charges against Trump related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol should be thrown out because he was acting as president at the time. Prosecutors have denounced the idea as a "novel and sweeping" claim.

The group also wrote that if the court agrees with Trump's argument, it will destroy the relationship between the commander in chief and the military, because the president would not have to follow law, while the military still would.

The situation could end up "creating the likelihood that service members will be placed in the impossible position of having to choose between following their Commander-in-Chief and obeying the laws enacted by Congress," the brief says.

The brief's signatories include former CIA Director Michael Hayden, retired Adm. Thad Allen and retired Gens. George Casey, Carlton Fulford, Craig McKinley and Charles Krulak.

Photo: BRANDON BELL/GETTY IMAGES

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