California gubernatorial candidate and Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell said this week that members of the U.S. military have told him they view themselves as an active “check” on President Donald Trump.
According to Fox News, this claim has drawn immediate scrutiny as tensions grow over a controversial video involving several Democratic lawmakers.
While appearing on Don Lemon’s show Monday, Swalwell defended six Democratic members of Congress who appeared in a video urging U.S. service members to “refuse illegal orders” from Trump.
The video has triggered widespread backlash and a formal review by the Department of War into whether Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, a retired Navy captain, violated military conduct standards by participating.
Swalwell argued that the Trump administration “told on” itself by launching the investigation, calling accusations against Kelly a political maneuver rather than a legitimate concern.
“What gives me hope, and I talk to service members all the time,” Swalwell said, “They tell me that I don’t appreciate enough and the public doesn’t appreciate enough that while Congress is not a check on the president anymore, and the judiciary at the Supreme Court is hardly a check, military members have told me, ‘We can be a check.’”
He said service members have assured him they will not “betray” their oath to the Constitution, even if pressured by the commander-in-chief.
“They’re essentially saying, ‘We’re not going to betray our oath to the Constitution because this guy tells us to,’” Swalwell continued. “While it’s not codified that way — they’re not a branch of government on their own — their honor and integrity might just save us.”
Swalwell also agreed with Lemon’s assertion that the administration, and by extension Republicans, were now pushing service members to “ignore the Constitution.”
“To me, the only reason you’d go after Mark Kelly if he’s telling soldiers, ‘You don’t have to follow an unlawful order’ — and they don’t — is if you intend to carry out unlawful orders,” he said. “If you don’t intend to carry out unlawful orders, why do you care that somebody would say that?”
His remarks came as another Arizona Democrat, Sen. Ruben Gallego, issued his own warning on CNN — this time directed at the military itself. Gallego said there would be “consequences” for service members if they pursued disciplinary action against Kelly.
“Donald Trump is going to be gone in a couple of years,” Gallego said. “And if you’re part of the military that is going after sitting senators, sitting members of Congress and part of the weaponization of government, there will be consequences, without a doubt.”
The controversy continues to intensify as the Department of War review moves forward and Democrats escalate their warnings about the political implications of the investigation.
