Democratic Representative and California gubernatorial candidate, Eric Swalwell, claimed on Monday that members of the military are telling him that they will act as a "check" on President Trump, following the release of a controversial video where six Democratic members of Congress urged the U.S. military and members of the intelligence community to disobey illegal orders issued by the Commander in Chief.
No such "illegal order" has been named. This week, the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the Pentagon said they have opened a review into the conduct of the Democratic lawmakers.
Swalwell discussed the video on Don Lemon's show on Monday.
"What gives me hope, and I talk to service members all the time. They tell me that I don't appreciate enough and the public doesn't appreciate enough that while Congress is not a check on the president anymore, and the judiciary at the Supreme Court is hardly a check, military members have told me, ‘We can be a check,'" Swalwell said. "They’re essentially saying, ‘We’re not going to betray our oath to the Constitution because this guy tells us to.’ While it's not codified that way — they're not a branch of government on their own— their honor and integrity might just save us."
The promise appears unnecessary, as no Democrat has yet to spell out what exactly President Trump may be trying to do that would require U.S. servicemembers to disobey orders.
"To me, the only reason you’d go after Mark Kelly if he’s telling soldiers, ‘You don’t have to follow an unlawful order’ — and they don’t — is if you intend to carry out unlawful orders," Swalwell said. "If you don’t intend to carry out unlawful orders, why do you care that somebody would say that?"