Lawmakers ask Pentagon leaders to commit to keeping the military out of politics and the election

WASHINGTON (AP) — Members of Congress are pressing the Pentagon’s top two leaders to ensure the military is not swept up in politics during the presidential election and that active-duty troops are not used illegally as a domestic police force.

The concerns come as the campaign heats up — the first presidential vote since the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, aimed at preventing Joe Biden’s victory from being certified.

Former President Donald Trump continues to claim that fraud cost him the 2020 election even though his own attorney general, recounts and investigations found no evidence of that. And he still faces charges of illegally conspiring to undo the results of the election.

In a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, lawmakers asked the defense leaders to reaffirm that U.S. law prohibits forces from being used for civilian law enforcement and that they should not carry out unlawful orders.

The letter, written by Democratic Reps. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, mirrors questions posed in the run-up to the 2020 election when Trump was already suggesting that he might not accept the results of the election if he lost.

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