Op-Ed: Exactly how many illegal orders are American troops expecting to get? Can a President threaten or coerce Congress?

The US Capitol building is visible as armed members of the National Guard stand outside Union Station on August 27, 2025 in Washington, DC – Copyright POOL/AFP Nathan Howard

Trump may have crossed a major, perhaps fatal, line, even by his own demanding standards. Accusing Democrats of “sedition” and threatening the death penalty on Truth Social is just the start of this demolition derby.

In a video posted on X, six Democrats, all of whom are ex-service people, “urge current members of the US military and spy agencies to refuse illegal orders and to defend the constitution.”

According to USA Today, Trump “doesn’t want to execute lawmakers”. Where does he get the idea he can do anything of the sort?

The Democrats have demanded the deletion of the offending posts.

The posts on X have taken on a life of their own in the meantime.

Let’s start with the basics:

“Sedition” means “conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch”, according to Oxford Languages. Telling people to obey the law is the exact opposite of sedition.

“Illegal orders” may include orders to fire on all anyone who looks like some of those pet-eating monsters in Ohio, single mothers, etc.

Troops do have to obey legal orders. They don’t have to obey illegal orders. Given the appearance of US troops in so many American cities, this is a pretty relevant call.

Some may even think that declaring war on the American public and attacking it is a bad idea. You never know.

Can a president threaten or coerce Congress? No.

Do illegal orders have any status at all? No.

There’s a less obvious but just as critical series of ramifications and consequences to this situation.

US troops overseas, if given an illegal order, are legally bound not to obey such an order. So is the United States. Treaties, conventions, alliances, and all aspects of civil law and human rights define this situation. Nor will allies participate.

On the other hand, allied troops may support US troops in combat and at law if they refuse to carry out any such orders.

At this point, the wheels of the whole theory of illegal orders fall off. Troops cannot be compelled to follow illegal orders, to start with. Commanders know what orders are illegal and may simply not issue them or ignore them.

Responsibility for crimes committed by any national military starts at the top. The guy who gives the orders is directly held accountable.

It may well be that King Donald the Last has stepped off a cliff.