Here's a transcript of the key exchange:
ME: You filled out a form which essentially says, ‘who delivered this threat,’ and your office wrote in ‘Donald J. Trump.’
HOULAHAN: 'The President.'
newrepublic.com/article/2034...
Also crucial from Rep Chrissy Houlahan:
One reason she and other Dems did the video about Trump's illegal orders is that they're hearing from inside the military and intel services of actual live fears that they're being given unlawful commands:
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I thought she was extremely cagey about that, actually. It annoyed me so much that I turned it off.
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news.usni.org/2025/10/16/a... similar kinds of conversations
Admiral Overseeing Caribbean Mission to Retire after One Year in Role - USNI News
The head of U.S. Southern Command, which is overseeing the Trump administration’s ongoing military strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean, will retire just over one year into his tenure. Adm...
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Hearing from military... thars disturbing!!
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Thank goodness veterans are reaching out to support soldiers.
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We are now at the point in this administration where if the so-called president doesn't like a fact he simply demands investigation and Bondi immediately acquiesces. Advising people of their rights and oaths is not seditious. Impeach Trump
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The military's starting to fight back. He's losing them also.
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Well, that was word salad-y, and more than a bit frightening that she had to traverse such a mishmash to make her point. Things have been headed this way since January. It's encouraging that lawmakers are being proactive.
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Great question, thanks for asking that.
I guess I’m a bit disturbed that there doesn’t seem to be a connection here to the murders of South American fishermen.
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Not a single Republican in Congress gives a damn. They're ALL complicit and collaborating with Trump's attacks on our Constitution. Murkowski is too "scared" to do the right thing. Collins is too "concerned". They're ALL too weak, cowardly, and without the integrity to be patriots.
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Boats, Caribbean.
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Exactly
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Blowing up Venezuelan boats on-sight clearly violates international law. These soldiers are already at risk for criminal charges for carrying out unlawful orders. This isn’t hypothetical.
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Yeah how did that whole “I was just folk orders” thing work at Nuremberg Trials
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can’t help but wonder if one reason they haven’t attacked venezuela yet is that hegsgeth is having trouble getting military leadership to follow his/trump’s illegal orders. @bcfinucane.bsky.social does that read feel reasonable to you?
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I read this today. It’s frightening.
10 Deaths Reported At Great Lakes Naval Base And In Housing Associated With Naval Base In 2025: Coroner
The number of deaths is above normal, according to the Lake County Coroners Office officials.
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Because they ARE! It’s blatantly obvious! Kegsbreath is a Moron a Fool a Fraud and a Liar 🤥
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Lemme just help out Rep Houlahan here:
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What's no doubt happening is troops are being told superiors have the legal justification for boat strikes etc, a court case would force that "proof" to be provided, which still wouldn't justify strikes under international or US law.
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I don't know if anything has changed since I was in, but the people who decided if an order was illegal were almost always the people who gave you that order, so there was always a lot of fear from the ones expected to carry out the orders.
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Rep Chrissy Houlahan also forcefully points out that virtually no Republicans have condemned Trump's call for Democrats' execution. How is that not a bigger story?
I also asked her if Dems should file impeachment articles. Here's the key exchange on all this:
newrepublic.com/article/2034...
!["The president was enraged," Esper recalled. "He thought that the protests made the country look weak, made us look weak and 'us' meant him. And he wanted to do something about it.
"We reached that point in the conversation where he looked frankly at [Joint Chiefs of Staff] Gen. [Mark] Milley and said, 'Can't you just shoot them, just shoot them in the legs or something?' ... It was a suggestion and a formal question. And we were just all taken aback at that moment as this issue just hung very heavily in the air."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:4weuzwhpgptwqainvc552s43/bafkreifk6jefj4o3m5aqdkrpdxjyhvytee47ocv66zyfnbr5uzq7ct36pe@jpeg)
