Dec 3, 2025

Unlawful Orders Video

In the war crimes boat strike incident, Pete Hegseth is said to have given the initial order to kill everyone.  Admiral Mitch Bradley gave the order to strike the boat again to kill the 2 survivors who were clinging to the burning wreckage, and some military person or persons obeyed those orders for a total of 4 strikes to the boat.  

Anyone who knows law and/or history might remember that the defense of "I was only obeying orders" is not accepted.  Those who violate the law can be held liable, regardless of who told them to do it.  This is now known as the "Nuremberg defense", a legal defense that essentially states that defendants were "only following orders". In the 1968 trial of Lt. William Calley, it was made clear that obedience to orders is no longer a defense to war crimes.   War criminals are to be held to account.

A couple of weeks ago, six Democrat lawmakers put out a short (90 second) video telling soldiers they did not have to obey UNLAWFUL orders.  


Here's the transcript in case you want to read through it carefully -

I'm Senator Alyssa Slackin. 
Senator Mark Kelly, 
Representative Chris Deluzio, 
Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander, 
Representative Chrissy Hulahan, 
Congressman Jason Crowe. 
I was a captain in the United States Navy, former CIA officer, former Navy, former paratrooper and Army Ranger, former intelligence officer, former Air Force. 

We want to speak directly to members of the military and the intelligence community who take risks each day to keep Americans safe. 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 uniform military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens like us. You all swore an oath to protect and defend this Constitution. And right now, the threats to our Constitution aren't just coming from abroad, but from right here at home. 

Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders. You can refuse illegal orders. You must refuse illegal orders. 

No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our constitution. We know this is hard and that it's a difficult time to be a public servant. But whether you're serving in the CIA, the Army, our Navy, the Air Force, your vigilance is critical. 

And know that we have your back because now more than ever, the American people need you. We need you to stand up for our laws, our Constitution, and who we are as Americans. Don't give up. Don't give up. Don't give up. Don't give up the ship. 


The video is about telling soldiers to honor and follow the law and their oath to obey the constitution.  Clearly not illegal.  The message is timely and important because people in military are being asked to violate our laws in many instances.  

The BBC posted, "Although they did not detail what orders they had in mind, they are thought to have been referring to the deployment of National Guard troops to US cities and the US Navy raids on alleged drugs traffickers in the Caribbean."  

The trump administration and right wing media jumped on the video immediately and said it was seditious and then began "investigating" and smearing and threatening the lawmakers in the video.  They particularly went after Mark Kelly.  The Pentagon is now investigating him.

Also from BBC - "He [trump]called it "seditious behaviour, punishable by death" and said the Democratic lawmakers should be arrested and tried. He also shared Truth Social posts that echoed those calls, including one recommending that the six should be hanged."

Wow.  All that for telling soldiers to follow the law. 

In all the articles I read, most experts agree that nothing will come of the threats to the lawmakers in the video.  They did nothing unlawful and an actual hearing would likely expose republicans to some dirty deeds.  

When our lawmakers stand up in a big way for what is right, we need to thank them.  When it's clear what they are doing is supported by citizens, it encourages others to step up as well.  

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Before I give the contact info for these lawmakers, here's an update to the previous posts...   For the last few days, I have been reading lots about the Pete Hegseth war crimes topic.  I have looked at a slew of sources.  Most of them only mentioned 2 strikes, but I did see two sources that mentioned 4 strikes in total.  It now appears that may be the tru total.  Heather Cox Richardson reported this in her Dec 2 newsletter:

Shortly after the meeting, PBS NewsHour journalist Nick Schifrin reported that a U.S. official told him “[t]he US military struck the boat on September 2_four_times: twice to kill the 11 people who were on board, and twice more to sink the boat.”

 The meeting referred to was the Dec 2 televised cabinet meeting where all the cabinet members took turns praising trump and trump fell asleep as shown on camera while Marco Rubio was saying trump who could end Russia’s war in Ukraine.  

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This topic is too big for one post. 
 




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December 1, 2025 ~ Heather Cox Richardson, Letters From an American (Substack - You can also find her newsletters on Facebook and YouTube)

December 2, 2025 ~ Heather Cox Richardson, Letters From an American (Substack - You can also find her newsletters on Facebook and YouTube)




Senator Alyssa Slackin
291 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-4822

Senator Mark Kelly
Hart Senate Office Building
Suite 516
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-2235
 
Representative Chris Deluzio
1222 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC  20515
Phone: (202) 225-2301
 
Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander
223 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-5206

Representative Chrissy Hulahan
1727 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4315
 
Congressman Jason Crowe
1323 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC  20515
Phone: (202) 225-7882


MORE CONTACTS

If you want to write or call someone else about this issue, check the CONTACTS PAGE. Besides frequent contacts, this page also has links to help you easily find others - senators,  and representatives, of course.  There's also a link to a list of committees and their members, so you can target lawmakers who would have the most influence on an issue.

ALSO, check out the TIPS AND RESOURCES page for links to resources that I truly believe you will find helpful.