Former Defense Secretaries Warn that Military Involvement in Elections is 'Dangerous, Unlawful'

All 10 living former U.S. secretaries of defense wrote an op-ed calling for a smooth transfer of power and warning against involving the military in election disputes.

The op-ed, published Sunday in The Washington Post, described elections and peaceful transitions between officeholders as "hallmarks" of American democracy and urged acceptance of the results of the 2020 presidential race.

"Our elections have occurred. Recounts and audits have been conducted," the letter reads. "Appropriate challenges have been addressed by the courts. 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 electoral college votes, as prescribed in the Constitution and statute, has arrived."

The letter was signed by James Mattis and Mark Esper — both of whom served under President Donald Trump — as well as Ashton Carter, Dick Cheney, William Cohen, Robert Gates, Chuck Hagel, Leon Panetta, William Perry and Donald Rumsfeld.

It comes as Trump and his allies have refused to accept the results of the presidential election while touting unfounded claims of voter fraud in an attempt to challenge President-elect Joe Biden's win. Elections officials representing both parties from across the country, however, have said there were no election irregularities that could have shifted the results.

Multiple states have completed ballot recounts or audits, all of which have upheld Biden's victory.

Additionally, each state has certified its election results, and the Electoral College met across the country last month to cast its votes for president, further affirming Biden's win. Biden, who won the popular vote by 7 million, received his expected 306 electoral votes to Trump's 232.

Congress meets this week to certify the Electoral College vote, and some Republican lawmakers have said they will object to Biden's electoral victory — a move others, including some GOP lawmakers, have strongly criticized.

Trump has repeatedly made false claims that the election was stolen from him, prompting speculation from some that he might use the military to keep power, Politico reports.

But the Sunday op-ed staunchly warned against doing so.

"Efforts to involve the U.S. armed forces in resolving election disputes would take us into dangerous, unlawful and unconstitutional territory," the former defense secretaries wrote.

The letter also called for current Defense Department officials to cooperate with the transfer of power.

Biden's transition has been rocky from the start. It was delayed for weeks as the General Services Administration refused to formally recognize his win, preventing him from accessing government funding, office space and important national security information usually made available to president-elects.

Most recently, Biden's team and current administration officials have been at odds over the transition.

Biden and members of his team have increasingly expressed concern that some agencies, specifically the Department of Defense and Office of Management and Budget, haven't been cooperating as they should.

"Right now we just aren't getting all the information that we need from the outgoing administration in key national security areas," Biden said while delivering remarks in Wilmington, Delaware, last week. "It's nothing short, in my view, of irresponsibility."

Current administration heads have pushed back against those claims, saying their agencies have fully cooperated with the transition team's requests.

Experts have warned that a smooth transfer of power is critical for national security purposes and as the country continues to fight the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The op-ed said acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller and those at the department are "bound by oath, law and precedent to facilitate the entry into office of the incoming administration."

"We call upon them, in the strongest terms, to do as so many generations of Americans have done before them," the op-ed says. "This final action is in keeping with the highest traditions and professionalism of the U.S. armed forces, and the history of democratic transition in our great country."

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