Former Trump Defense Secretary Mark Esper said former military leaders should not get involved in the debate over presidential immunity as it relates to former President Trump Tuesday.
“I would prefer to see retired admirals and generals not get involved in these issues,” Esper said on “CNN This Morning” with anchor Kasie Hunt.
Esper’s comments follow a Supreme Court amicus brief filed Monday by more than a dozen retired four-star generals, admirals and other former military leaders in which they stated their opposition to the former president’s immunity claims in criminal cases. In their brief, the group of former military leaders said Trump’s claims “would threaten the military’s role in American society, our nation’s constitutional order, and our national security.”
“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.”
Hunt also noted an argument made by Trump’s legal team a few months ago that a president could order SEAL Team Six to kill a political opponent and not get prosecuted due to an ex-executive having expansive immunity from criminal prosecution.
“The hypothetical… SEAL Team Six being used to take out… it’s just ridiculous,” Esper responded. “So I — look, the President… my view doesn’t have that type of immunity.”
Esper, a now frequent critic of Trump, has said he will not vote for his old boss but has also appeared hesitant to commit to voting for President Biden
“I’m not there yet,” Esper said after recently being asked by comedian Bill Maher on his HBO show, “Real Time with Bill Maher,” if he would vote for the current president. “I’m definitely not voting for [former President Trump], but I’m not there yet.”
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