On Monday, more than a dozen retired four-star generals, admirals, and other former top military personnel filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court, arguing that former President Trump should not have immunity in his criminal cases.
The group of former military leaders said that Trump’s claim he should be immune in his criminal cases “would threaten the military’s role in American society, our nation’s constitutional order, and our national security” and would carry “profoundly negative effects on military service members.”
The case Trump’s lawyers have presented to the court argues that the charges against Trump related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the United States Capitol should be thrown out because he was acting as the president during the time prosecutors allege a crime was committed.
Prosecutors say that the idea Trump would be protected presidential immunity was a “novel and sweeping claim.
Among those who signed their names to the amicus brief — a document submitted by a person or group that is not a party in the case but may offer more information or context — were retired Adm. Thad Allen and retired Gens. George Casey, Carlton Fulford, Craig McKinley, Charles Krulak, and former CIA Director Michael Hayden.
The group warned in its brief that if Trump were granted immunity against the criminal claims, a door would be opened for future executive intervention in the country’s elections, which would put national security at risk.
“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.”
If the court agrees with Trump, the group warned that it would destroy the military’s relationship with the president, saying it would initially be saying the president didn’t have to follow the law.
The brief warns that this 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 Supreme Court is expected to begin arguments on the immunity claims on April 25, with the decision likely to be handed down before the end of June.