CNN's Audie Cornish rejected a Republican congressman's defense of President Donald Trump's threats against Democratic lawmakers.
The president last month accused six elected Democrats of "seditious behavior," which he said was "punishable by death," for recording a video urging military and intelligence service members not to follow illegal orders – and that reminder took on enhanced meaning over revelations about an attack on survivors of a boat strike near Venezuela.
"[Uniform Code of Military Justice] says that you're never obligated to follow an unlawful order," said Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT). "But this is what's happening, you've heard it every day over 3,000 times. This president is unlawful, this president's actions are unconstitutional. His actions to deploy the [National] Guard is unlawful. His action to support ICE is unlawful."
Cornish pointed out that those actions are still being challenged in court.
"Yeah, but it's not unlawful," Zinke argued.
"Yet," Cornish said, smiling.
"Well, it's not unlawful," Zinke continued, "and to to suggest and to promote that a service member violate the UCMJ – by the way, the penalty for sedition is death, I think the president was right. You know, General Washington, if those members of the House and the Senate were in his Army, if they're in the Army, they probably would have been hung. General Washington hung men for deserting their post."
Cornish was baffled by the congressman's historical analogy.
"I mean, a lot has changed since then, including international law around war and laws of war," Cornish said, and then checked her watch. "You're taking it back to the 1800s?"
"President Washington would have a shorter rope, and certainly today the shorter rope," Zinke added. "So members of Congress, Article One, Article Two, they say what they like, but it is seditious to to suggest that troops disobey a lawful order and suggest this president – remember the context is this president is unlawful, therefore you don't have to you don't have to follow his orders. That's a very dangerous road. UCMJ, the bar is much higher on what's lawful and what's not lawful."
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