Joint Staff Alleged UCMJ Violations

Summation: The problem with the Executive Branch discipline problem can be remedied if Congress had an NSA-like capability to monitor the Executive. The American Joint Staff shows they are not reliable. They have refused to stay within their line lane. Their conduct warrants an immediate investigation.

Overview of the issue: What the DoD Chain of Command needs to do: Click [Follow-up to This letter; Comments here and here]

The current problem stems from a leadership and accountability problem. The President views himself as above the law, and able to do what he wants. Bluntly, he is in rebellion against the Constitution. [ Details on alleged Joint Staff violations of DoD Directive 1344 Click]

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NSA: Does the UCMJ cover violations of the Constitution?

Yes, and the Joint Staff knows this.

Some have asked about the NSA and whether there are UCMJ articles which make it a crime to violate the Constitution. You bet the UCMJ covers this.

The UCMJ does not permit the unlawful NSA activity. The UCMJ forbids the illegal White House, NSA, and DoD surveillance. The illegal NSA surveillance violates the 4th Amendment of the Constitution.

The UCMJ covers violations of the law, and other impeachable offenses. There are various sections in Title 10 of the US Code, referred to the as the "Uniform Code of Military Justice" or UCMJ. Click these links to find out which articles the Joint Staff has violated by engaging in this illegal activity: Article 92 and Articles 98 cover these very well. NSA's regulations as you can see in this guide are consistent with the Constitution; and conduct which violates the US Constitution violate the NSA's regulations. [ Guide ] There's also the "Catch all" ARticle 134 and Article 133.

All General Officers who are assigned to the Pentagon know the Constitution; and that only the Congress can make rules. Also, the Flag Officers know full well that their oath is to the Constitution, and that they must only obey lawful orders.

The Secretary of Defense, Joint Staff, and DoD personnel assigned to the many illegal programs are in trouble. They are criminals. They have ignored the Constitution. They have defied Congress. They have illegally created rules contrary to our laws. They have unlawfully followed rules which only Congress has the power to write.

The President is a criminal. He has made up rules, but the Constitution does not grant the President any power to make rules. Only Congress can make laws. We the People have not delegated the President the power to violate the law; nor make up new excuses to ignore the warrant requirement.

There are exceptions to the warrant requirement. But this does not include what the NSA is doing in their illegal surveillance. The NSA knows this. They have no defense. They are afraid. But the right answer is to be brave. Honorable military personnel must be brave and stand before justice. You must be honorable and let the judicial system decide your fate. You must not hide, nor cower.

You may be able to get assistance or amnesty. You are not protected if you follow illegal orders. You have no defense if you follow orders telling you to violate the Constitution. Your leaders are lying to you. They are pretending there are many exceptions to the warrant requirement. This is false. There are only a few. What you are doing does not qualify as a lawful exception.

The President unlawfully made up new rules to say it was OK, but is it a violation of the Constitution. Your leaders are not to be trusted. Only Congress may make rules about what is or is not a waiver to the warrant requirements. Your Commander in Chief does not have the lawful authority or power to make rules. He is lying to you. He is not to be trusted. He is lying to scare you to be silent and keep following illegal orders. He has no authority to order you to violate the law.

Your Commander in Chief does not have the power to make exceptions to the Constitution. We the People did not delegate that power to him. You are wrong to follow orders that monitor Americans. Your leaders are lying to you about what Americas are doing. We are your friends. We are your fellow citizens. We are not your enemy. We are not living in Iraq. We are the People who delegated powers to your Commander in Chief. We can revoke those powers.

You have a duty to disobey unlawful orders: [ Click ]

[ For your convenience, there is an NSA Hearing Archive; Click here to read other content in the NSA Hearing Archive.]

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Sanctions and discipline are warranted. If no action is taken then the public should not be surprised why the discipline of the troops plummets: Their leadership moves without regard to the laws of war, US Federal Code, and DoD directives.

The Joint Staff should be asked to resign, or face a court martial for violating the DoD directives. Their conduct shows they are unfit to command. The troops know this. The Joint Staff cannot be trusted to assert the rule of law, or freely assent to directives.

Let us review the Congressional language covering the Joint Staff, the Uniform code of Military Justice, an act of Congress made from Article 1 Section 8. Article 1 section 8 is the inherent authority of Congress the power to make rules related to judicial procedures. The power of Congress to make rules affects the military, and all trials – whether AlQueda, pirates, military officers, or civilians.

Title 10, Chapter 47, Section 801-940 was originally passed 5 May 1950. These are the rules Congress passed-enacted-approved-lawfully require the military to follow.

The Uniform Code of Military Justice is a set of procedures that are applicable to the military. They are commonly referred to as the “UCMJ”. Violations of the UCMJ face a range of sanctions. Here is the link to the UCMJ.
Click

Evidence The letter: Click here

The letter is a fatal admission. It is evidence. It is a signed document. It is admissible.

The cartoon: What the reaction says about the Joint Staff suitability for command

The Joint Staff’s reaction to the cartoon is the very subject of the cartoon: A leadership problem in the American Military – refusing to obey unlawful orders, and failing to withdraw oneself from a rebellion against the Constitution.

Either the Joint Staff is easily ruffled – and should not be in command; or the Joint Staff cannot read and we should not be surprised why the laws of war are not followed much less enforced in re Iraq.

This situation is a clear sign of a discipline and leadership problem within the American military. The very subject of the cartoon – a powerless military – is as a direct result from this command breakdown: Failure by the Joint Staff to refuse to engage in unlawful war, and continuing to engage in illegal occupation despite insufficient plans, support, or resources to accomplish that objective.

Their conduct raises substantial, real, serious, and clear questions about the Joint Staff and this conduct brings discredit upon themselves and the United States Armed Forces.

Their conduct shows they have divided loyalties: On one hand are the DoD Directives; on the other hand are [a] orders, requests, or advice – either from inside or outside the Pentagon – tell them to violate the directives and [b] them choosing to violate those directives and [c] working together to organize a responses that violates those directives.

Either the Joint Staff did this on their own – freely choosing to ignore their directives; OR

Someone inside or outside the Pentagon – possibly the President, SECDEF, or the American Legion – encouraged them to take action that was contrary to the directives.

Conspiracy -- There are more than two of them that violated this directive:
Click

Either way, the Joint Staff shows they cannot read: The cartoon was clearly talking about the military.

At worst, the cartoon did not go far enough – and should have also included a glassy-eyed distant stare ala Terry Schaivo – clearly representing the Joint Staff’s incompetence.

The Alleged Violations of Title 10 of the US Code

UCMJ Article 133 is clear: Conduct unbecoming an officer.
Click

UCMJ Article 134 is clear: Disorderly conduct -- “all disorders and neglects to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed forces, all conduct of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces”
Click [ Discussion ]

UCMJ Article 81 is clear: Conspiracy -- Two or more agreed to violate the DoD directives
Click

UCMJ Article 92 is clear: Failure to obey a regulation
Click [ Details: Elements ]

UCMJ Article 98 is clear: Failure to comply “knowingly and intentionally fails to enforce or comply with any provision of this chapter regulating the proceedings”
Click [NCIS investigating] [ Elements ]

UCMJ Article 94 is clear: Sedition “intent to usurp or override lawful military authority, refuses, in concert with any other person, to obey orders or otherwise”
Click [ Elements ]

Let’s look at the Staff Judge Advocate’s office: Is there anyone who is dissuading the office to investigate this matter: “knowingly and intentionally fails to enforce or comply with any provision of this chapter regulating the proceedings before”
Click

The problem is the very people who most likely solicited-induced-encouraged-ordered the Joint Staff to do this are they very people – under the UCMJ who are responsible for imposing discipline in a manner other than a Courts Martial. Namely, the SEC DEF and President, because they most likely directed them to do this are not likely to impose any non-judicial punishment on the Joint Staff.

Non-judicial punishment: It is absurd to believe they will face anything, further adding to the momentum to [a] issue orders violating DoD directives; and [b] proceeding with the assumption that misconduct/violations will face no sanctions. Both have inherently dangerous implications for good order and discipline within the military, and raises real questions about their loyalty to other directives like their oath and loyalty to the US Constitution.
Click

The issue is clear: Failure to comply with directives. The Joint Staff has shown they cannot read, are easily excitable, and will do things that violate simple, clear directives that they knew about or should know about. When there’s something complicated – like war crimes – there’s no reason a reasonable person should have any confidence the Joint Staff is going to look into the matter.

Unless there is a Courts Martial, the American public should have continued grave, and substantial concerns about the reliability and integrity of the Joint Staff and the Commanders.

The Joint Staff deserves closer oversight by Congress

At a minimum this warrants a DoD IG investigation to determine inter alia

Who directed this letter

Why did the Joint Staff issue this letter, sign it, and violate the DoD directive against that conduct

Is the person who might provide a verbal reprimand over this issue the same person who ordered this action

Why did the Joint Staff engage in this conduct that violates the DoD directives

Why should we believe this has not happened in other areas related to Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, or the DoD support of unlawful rendition The Congress has the power to make rules over pirates, captures on land and sea; yet, the Joint Staff has assented to fictional Presidential power. It remains to be understood whether this Joint Staff reaction – violation of DoD directives is part of a larger pattern of conduct that interfered with lawful, required, investigations into prisoner abuse investigations

The House and Senate Armed Services Committee need to look at this incident in a larger context:

How is this conduct part of a White House effort to induce others in the military to violate directives, without any expectation of sanctions;

To what extent has the Joint Staff conduct – violating the DoD Directive – substantially undermined their command authority, and the impact their violations have had on troop morale, readiness, and willingness to adhere to their oaths of office.

It appears as though the Joint Staff has, at a minimum, merely confirmed the validity of the cartoon. Rather than accept responsibility for their failed leadership and ongoing unlawful war crimes in Iraq, the Joint Staff wants to shoot the messenger.

Indeed, if “offensive cartoons” are the “quick catalyst for letter writing” we can only wonder how long it will be before the Joint Staff raises concerns about the prophet Muhammad’s image being shown in the media.

Either the 1st Amendment and DoD directives are important, or they are ignored. This Joint Staff says nothing about one kind of offensive conduct, but violates DoD directives when it comes to their personal leadership failure and rebellion.

What you can do

Let the House and Senate Armed Services Committee know that you are concerned about the Joint Staff war crimes, their leadership failure, and the Joint staff violations of DoD directives.

House

Senate


Encourage the Congress to question the DoD IG over this matter – whether it is reviewed.

Next time anyone from the Joint Staff, Judge Advocate, DoD IG appears before the Committee ask them questions about UCMJ, political activities, DoD Directives

Will they disobey orders to violate DoD directives – yes, they do disobey directives

Will they follow advice from civilians, non-governmental agencies, or enlisted personnel to violate DoD directives – apparently so

Have they been trained on these DoD Directives – they have failed to follow clearly promulgated guidance

How do commanders enforce violations – if at all

What role does the military play in American politics -- none

Is it appropriate for a member of the armed services to use official stationary to make public comments about political issues -- never

What is to be said of the Joint Staff rebellion of the Constitution – is spreading

Has the Joint Staff issued new guidance related to political activities and war crimes – their conduct, left unsanctioned speaks volumes

Is the training related to this activity sufficient to mitigate, identify, and sanction misconduct for violations of the DoD Directives and/or UCMJ -- self-evidently, their conduct send the wrong signal to the American military and needs to be immediately rebuked.

Summary

If the Joint Staff is going to exit their lane and enter politics, or distract attention from their ongoing rebellion against the Constitution – as evidenced by their failure to assert their oath and comply with the laws of war, and refuse to obey unlawful orders to Invade Iraq despite no NSA evidence of WMD – then there is a major problem.

The public should have no confidence in this Joint Staff. They cannot freely assent to or follow simple orders. Their conduct indicates they have violated many Statutes in the US Code. This incident warrants a swift investigation and credible sanctions for these violations of the DoD Directives.

Unless this misconduct is sanctioned, rebuked, and publicly called what it is – evidence of an ongoing rebellion against the United States Constitution – the public should have every confidence more illegal orders and violations of the law will continue under this Joint Staff.

We should not be surprised why the US government and Americans at larger are held in contempt around the globe: They preach about standards, but fail to demonstrate the standards warrant adherence or enforcement. It remains to be understood how many other violations of the UCMJ have occurred; and to what extent the Joint Staff has violated and sanctions violations of the DoD directives.