Graham criticizes Democrats for urging troops to ‘reject illegal orders’

First on Fox: Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is demanding specifics from a group of congressional Democrats who have urged military service members to “reject illegal orders.”

Graham sent letters to a group of Democrats in Congress, all with backgrounds in the military or intelligence community, featured in a now-viral video urging service members to reject illegal orders.

The six lawmakers appearing in the video are Sens. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., along with Rep. Maggie Goodlander, D-Mich.; Jason Crow, Democrat from Colorado; Chris DiLuzio, Democrat from Pennsylvania; and Chrissy Houlahan, Democrat from Pennsylvania.

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They repeated the phrases, “You may refuse illegal orders,” or “You must refuse illegal orders,” as they continued to accuse service members of not having to carry out orders from higher-up officials they believe violate the Constitution.

Notably, none of the lawmakers addressed the orders they believed were illegal in the video.

Graham, who served for three decades in the Air Force and served as an Air Force judge general, wrote in six letters to each of the lawmakers that he takes “the issue of illegal orders very seriously.”

“I can’t find a single example of an illegal order during this administration, but as a member of Congress, I believe you owe it to the country to identify orders that you believe are illegal,” Graham said.

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“However, to say I am disturbed by your video encouraging service members and intelligence community professionals to reject ‘unlawful orders’ is an understatement,” he continued. “In this regard, can you clarify what orders issued by President Trump or those in his chain of command, that you consider unlawful?”

The video and Graham’s messages come in the wake of growing questions among lawmakers about the legality of President Donald Trump’s authorization of strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, and in the wake of the administration’s deployment of the National Guard to blue cities across the country.

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Military personnel have an obligation to follow lawful orders from their superiors, but they can ignore orders deemed unlawful, according to the Uniform Code of Military Justice – the uniform military justice system passed in 1951.

When asked to elaborate, Slotkin’s office directed Fox News Digital to an interview conducted by the senator With TMZ, She explained that the video was filmed in response to service members “who reached out to us saying, ‘I don’t know what to do if the commander in chief orders me to do something illegal.’”

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Slotkin, who was a CIA officer, said service members “weren’t trained in police techniques. They’re not trained to arrest and detain American citizens, to control crowds, to raid homes, and they were concerned that they could be asked to do those things, that protests could go wrong in a place like Chicago, that they could be asked to do those things.”

Fox News Digital reached out for comment from Kelly, Crowe, Holahan, Goodlander, and DeLuzio but did not immediately hear back.