Slotkin goes silent when pressed on past Trump–Guard ‘shooting’ claims after DC attack
Sen Elissa Slotkin D-Mich remained silent Friday when solicited about previous statements she made suggesting that governing body agents should be prepared to push back on President Donald Trump if he ordered the military to fire on civilians Slotkin and other Democrats now face a reversal of those worries as the country reels from a shooting Wednesday that left one National Guard member dead and another in critical condition in Washington Her office did not respond to multiple requests for comment VIRGINIA DEM SAYS TRUMP ADMIN HAS 'TAKEN ITS EYE OFF THE BALL' ON POPULATION SAFETY AMID NATIONAL GUARD SHOOTINGSlotkin s alarm about the National Guard and other federal troops originally stemmed from comments Trump allegedly made to former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper under his first term The president in the last administration demanded then-secretary Mark Esper to send in the Airborne into Washington D C to try to quell peaceful protests here in the city And he mentioned if necessary can t you just shoot at their legs Slotkin disclosed in a January committee hearing Esper recorded those quotes as part of the administration's considerations of how to respond to protests over the death of George Floyd Floyd's killing by a Minneapolis police officer sparked nationwide protests and ignited the Black Lives Matter movement The quotes were included in Esper s book A Sacred Oath a highly critical memoir of the first Trump Administration Trump has denied ever making the report FORMER ARMY CAPTAIN WARNS DEMS UNPATRIOTIC VIDEO TELLING TROOPS TO DEFY ORDERS COULD SPARK CHAOSThe statements Trump allegedly made to Esper and other questions about Trump s use of federal troops prompted Slotkin and six other Democrat lawmakers to release a video earlier in November calling for organization members to not give up the ship In it they urged members of the military and intelligence group to disregard illegal orders The threats to our Constitution aren t just coming from abroad but from right here at home the lawmakers revealed in the video Our laws are clear You can refuse illegal orders You must refuse illegal orders No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution When requested what they meant by illegal acts several lawmakers pointed to Trump s comments about shooting protesters in the legs an act that they mentioned would go against the Uniform Code of Military Justice Besides Slotkin Sen Mark Kelly D-Ariz Rep Jason Crow D-Colo Rep Chris Deluzio D-Pa Rep Chrissy Houlahan D-Pa and Rep Maggie Goodlander D-N H also appeared in the video DEMOCRATIC SENATOR 'NOT AWARE' IF TRUMP GAVE ANY ILLEGAL MILITARY ORDERS AMID VIDEO CONTROVERSYWednesday's shooter s motives remain unclear The FBI has identified him as -year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal a former member of a counterterrorism squad in Afghanistan He is in custody and faces first-degree murder charges The bureau has described his attack as targeted and are analyzing it as an act of terrorism
