Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-Va.) said Tuesday that President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s involvements in efforts to prosecute members of Congress who participated in the “illegal orders” video could force the case to be thrown out on the grounds of “undue command influence.”
“It’s not just Pete Hegseth. It is also the president himself. Both of them have been involved in undue command influence. And I will tell you, there’s no faster way to kill a case in the Uniform Code of Military Justice, in a military court, than undue command influence. And this goes all the way to the top,” Vindman said during a Tuesday appearance on MS NOW, formerly known as MSNBC.
“The interesting thing here is that if this ever sees the inside of a courtroom, and I doubt it, Pete Hegseth and potentially even the president might be called as witnesses, because that’s typically what happens in undue command influence when that issue is raised,” he added.
Undue command influence is the improper interference by a senior military or civilian leader with the military justice system that undermines its independence and impartiality and is considered a violation of Article 37 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, according to Yale Law.
Trump openly condemned the six Democratic lawmakers featured in a video urging service members not to comply with “illegal orders.” The president described their remarks as “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR,” later noting it was punishable by death.
Hegseth deemed the lawmakers the “Seditious Six,” accusing them of launching a “politically-motivated influence operation” to inject doubt into the armed forces.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), a retired naval officer who was featured in the video, is now under investigation from the Pentagon for “serious allegations of misconduct.” The lawmaker and his allies, such as Vindman, say he was only encouraging service members to follow the law.
“It’s outrageous. It’s unacceptable. It’s retaliation and intimidation, pure and simple, to silence. And it’s illegal,” Vindman, who served on the National Security Council during Trump’s first administration, said of the attacks on Kelly.
