In the weeks before the 2020 election, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper directed senior military leaders to alert him to any “unusual” requests from the White House.
Esper told all fifty state adjutant generals — the heads of each state’s national guard — to be on the lookout.
Esper asked them “to keep us in the Pentagon informed about their activities and let us know immediately if they were, or expected to be, directed to do something out of the normal.”
Too bad he didn’t phrase that in the negative sense, such as being told to sit on their hands while a cosplaying lynch mob chases down the leaders of congress in the halls of the capitol.
You know, Mark, you could have said something publicly. at the time. You know–notify the nation of the impending coup attempt. But no, you saved that (unsurprising and terrifying) bombshell for your book. I understand: gotta fund your retirement because no decent person will employ you anymore.
‘Esper wrote that, specifically, he and some senior military leaders were concerned that Trump would ask the military to get involved as he was already “setting the stage” to “claim voter fraud if he lost the election.”’
One thing that is becoming chillingly clear is that, throughout the entire episode, Trump was only concerned with the means he would be able to employ, and get away with trying to employ, to stay in office. It is transparently evident that Trump had no concern whatsoever for the Constitution that he had falsely sworn to “protect and defend.”
Trump wanted to complete a coup to make himself a dictator, full stop.
It sure would be nice if Republicans who saw Trump and his minions would have spoken up at the time. It sure would be nice if those still in office would speak up now. It sure would be nice if those who are concerned about the threat to our democracy would speak up before the November election, or the one in 2024.
The problem is all these Republicans that could help to preserve our democracy who instead stand by and allow it to be torn down as long as they can take advantage of the carnage, and who only step forward when it seems like they can profit from doing so or that staying loyal becomes a risk to them. This kind of statement after the fact isn’t patriotism…patriotism is John McCain stopping his supporters from being racist loons even though it cost him the awful supporters that Republicans depend on now. It sure would be nice if more Republicans were like that, instead of most being craven opportunists who will gladly burn the nation down and then write a memoir about it later about how they did what they could to hold back the destruction.
Esper’s revelations rumble like a wrecking ball through the façade Trump projected as some mastermind executive. I look forward to seeing how much of Esper’s information connects with the J6 committee’s work.
What’s next? Will we read about animal sacrifices and Satanic rituals to cling to power? Neither would surprise me.
Yes, it was that damned bad!!! We knew it all along. It’s mind boggling that people continue to support DJT!!!
To Esper: You are a craven opportunist…but
Keep ‘em comin’
I love these guys who “resign on the spot” and leave a vacuum that WILL BE FILLED. Nature and Trump abhor vacuums.
Though the vacancies act has a say, I prefer the principled, because today’s ‘wares merchants’ are too opportunistic.
I disagree with him about Ukraine, but Vindman > Esper.
I understand the legal logic for “resigning in protest” rather than obeying an unlawful order, but then who stops the president from finding someone else to do his dirty work?
The senate, by refusing to confirm the replacement. It actually happened, from time to time. Then institutional resistance to hackery blocked some of the worst deputy’s assistant chairwiper replacements going into the acting head role, such as happened with Jeffrey Clark trying to take over DoJ.
Congress
Namely the then Republican Senate majority, which of course was the second problem.
republican “patriots” must really hate our country that they are planning to re-install this insane criminal as president either through votes or violence.
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Is there anyone who believes that the disgraced ex-president would not do this if he could get away with it?
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