I spoke to the Chief of Defence this morning, Mark Milley, to discuss the precautions to be taken to prevent an unstable president from launching a military action or accessing launch codes and ordering a nuclear strike, Pelosi wrote in an e-mail. The situation of this mad president could not be more dangerous and we must do everything in our power to protect the American people from his unbalanced attack on our country and our democracy.
After talking to Millie on Friday, Pelosi told her party meeting that she had received assurances that if Trump wanted to use a nuclear weapon, there would be guarantees, according to multiple sources within the party meeting.
It was President Pelosi who made the call to the president. He answered their questions about the Nuclear Command management process, said Colonel Dave Butler in a news report.
Pelosi’s announcement came a day after House of Representatives president asked Vice President Mike Pence to stop Trump, citing the 25th Amendment. The amendment to the constitution was adopted by the bureau and warned that Congress could press charges if this did not happen.
Since then, the democratic call for a presidential impeachment has only intensified in the aftermath of the Capitol uprising, and the Democratic-led House of Representatives could possibly vote a second time next week on a procedure to impeach Mr Trump.
Pelosi’s letter again raises questions about what is needed to actually use nuclear weapons and whether the army can refuse Trump’s command.
Only the President of the United States has the power to order the use of nuclear weapons.
But contrary to popular belief, the nuclear football that always accompanies the president has no button. Instead, Mr. Trump has decision-making tools and documents that he will use to authenticate his orders and strikes.
The decision to launch an attack requires the President to work with military personnel with the necessary equipment to lead the attack, as well as personnel at all levels, from the commander-in-chief to the soldiers working in the missile silos.
Fault! The file name is not specified.
Current and former defence officials also insist that the military do not blindly follow presidential orders, stressing that there are different levels of checks and balances to prevent the president from illegally ordering a nuclear attack.
But the reality is that the only basis for intervening in a direct order is that it is illegal, immoral or unethical. And there is a widespread belief among military commanders that they should resign if they are unable to obey a lawful order.
Some nuclear experts say that Millie can do little to prevent Trump from ordering a nuclear reactor because he and other senior national safety officials are technically incapable of making such decisions.
According to Vipin Narang, a nuclear policy expert and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), any guarantees that Millie might introduce to effectively prevent Trump from exercising the sole power to use nuclear weapons would in fact be a coup d’état according to the standard definition.
The nuclear launch procedure gives POTUS the sole authority to order the launch of a nuclear weapon, he told CNN, adding that the president has no legal obligation to consult or approve a number of individuals, including the vice president, the national security advisor, the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Contrary to popular belief, none of them are part of the nuclear launch chain. Therefore, all security measures that could effectively prevent POTUS from exercising its exclusive power to launch nuclear weapons are either illegal or illusory, added Narang. As long as Trump remains in office, he retains the legal authority to deactivate only some or all of the U.S. nuclear weapons until January 20th at 00:01 a.m. to begin with, or until he is removed from office.
The four congressional leaders – Pelosi, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer and Kevin McCarthy – also met Milley and the Secretary of Defense Deputy Christopher Miller on Thursday night about the federal response to the breach in the Capitol building, according to a well-known source. It is not clear whether the issue of nuclear codes has been raised in this discussion.
In a letter sent to the Democrats on Friday, Pelosi shared news of the death of American Capitol policeman Brian Siknick after his injury, and said she hoped to hear from Pence as soon as possible about the possibility of removing Trump from office because of the 25th Amendment.
Almost 50 years ago, after years of giving their uncontrollable president a chance, Congressional Republicans finally told President Nixon it was time to leave. Today, after the dangerous and inflammatory actions of the president, Republicans in Congress should follow suit and ask Tromp to resign immediately. If the President does not resign immediately and voluntarily, Congress will continue our actions, Mrs. Pelosi wrote.
Pelosi also said that the attack on Capitol Hill has had a major traumatic impact on members and congressional staff, and said a letter would be sent by the office of the Chief Medical Officer and the employee assistance office on the resources available to members to respond to the post-siege trauma.
This story was updated on Friday with extra events.
Daniella Diaz, Manu Raju, Dana Bash and Barbara Starr contributed to this report.
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