NEWS: Trump “illegal orders” exposed — one day after he said Democrats should be executed for warning troops to refuse them

Federal judges, military lawyers, and DOJ investigators all point to unlawful orders across Trump’s government — validating the six lawmakers he threatened with death.

Bottom Line Up Front

In the past 48 hours, five separate developments — spanning the military, the courts, and the Justice Department — point to a pattern of illegal orders, unlawful operations, and open defiance of the Constitution inside Donald Trump’s administration. This comes one day after Trump called for the execution of six Democratic lawmakers who warned U.S. troops that refusing illegal orders is their duty.

This was the major focus of our broadcast this morning on DEFIANCE Radio. You can listen below or scroll down further for the full story.

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WHAT HAPPENED

Today, the evidence is overwhelming: The lawmakers were right. Trump was wrong. And the illegal orders are real.

If you missed the original video, you can watch it here. Six Democratic lawmakers warned members of the military and intelligence community that the Trump administration might ask them to do illegal things and reminding them that they have a right and responsibility to disobey illegal orders. I posted about it earlier this week, writing that I thought it was “insane that we are living a moment where a video message like this is necessary.”

Yesterday, the president responded in a fit of rage against the six lawmakers — all veterans or national security officials — accusing them of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR punishable by DEATH.” Trump demanded their arrest. He reposted comments calling for hanging them, in one of the most unhinged moment of his entire two-term presidency.

Rather than unify in repudiating the vile remarks from the president, Republicans immediately echoed Trump, daring Democrats to “name one” illegal order anyone in Trump’s government had been asked to carry out. Some similarly accused Democrats of “sedition,” despite the lawmakers merely telling government works to comply with the law.

The Republicans should not have engaged in the “name one” taunting. Because within 48 hours, a flurry of receipts arrived.

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Federal judge rules Trump’s troop deployment to D.C. ILLEGAL

Late yesterday, a federal judge issued a blistering opinion against the administration. The judge found Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops into Washington, D.C. was “unlawful” and must be halted.

The judge said Trump “exceeded the bounds of statutory authority,” irreparably harming D.C.’s sovereignty and public safety. This follows a Tennessee court blocking Trump’s Guard mobilization in Memphis just days ago, as well as the Pentagon pulling forces back from Chicago and Portland amid legal challenges.

This is now the second court in one week finding Trump’s domestic troop deployments illegal. Put another way, the day after Trump said Democrats should be executed for warning troops about illegal orders, courts confirmed his administration had been issuing illegal orders to U.S. troops to deploy into an American city.

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Top military lawyers warned Trump’s Caribbean boat strikes may be ILLEGAL assassinations

NBC News revealed that the senior lawyer at U.S. Southern Command warned Trump’s boat-strike campaign in the Caribbean could constitute extrajudicial killings — a violation of both U.S. law and international law.

Six officials confirmed the story. According to the reporting, the command’s top legal officer raised serious legal objections, other JAGs echoed the concerns, and then DOJ political appointees overruled them. Before getting shut down, the top military lawyer reportedly argued the strikes likely exposed U.S. troops to criminal liability.

This was exactly the scenario the lawmakers warned about. Illegal orders directed at U.S. servicemembers. In this case, the orders involve the murder of civilians instead of the routine law-enforcement interdiction of suspected drug boats.

And here’s the kicker: Shortly after these objections, the head of Southern Command abruptly announced he’d be retiring after less than a year in the top job of his career.

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DOJ investigating possible ILLEGAL impersonation of federal agents by Trump’s “revenge team”

CNN and MSNOW reporters broke the news yesterday that federal prosecutors are now investigating individuals who allegedly posed as mortgage-fraud investigators in probes targeting prominent Democrats such as Senator Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

The grand jury subpoenas reportedly demand evidence of people claiming to act under the authority of Bill Pulte, the head of the nation’s top housing agency, and DOJ official Ed Martin, who runs the “weaponization” working group that has been unironically leading investigations into the presidents foes, despite a mandate to end the weaponization of justice.

Both men have reportedly helped drive Trump’s politically motivated investigations of Democrats. As part of the probe into those probes, CNN found that prosecutors are also exploring whether grand jury material was illegally shared with unauthorized individuals. This raises the possibility that Trump’s revenge apparatus involved what many of us have long suspected: unauthorized access to federal data and political abuse of federal resources.

Another example of possible illegal orders — this time inside the civilian side of government.

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Judge advances contempt probe into ILLEGAL deportation flights

If that weren’t enough, a federal judge announced 48 hours ago that he’s moving “promptly” toward identifying which Trump officials illegally defied his orders in a case involving deportations to a notorious prison in El Salvador.

Judge James Boasberg previously found probable cause that Trump officials committed criminal contempt by ignoring his ruling and continuing deportation flights in violation of court orders. A higher court has now authorized him to resume the inquiry and potentially name the officials responsible.

This means Trump administration figures could face criminal liability for ordering federal employees to violate the law.

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New study finds Trump officials have ILLEGALLY ignored court orders in 26 different cases this year

This Boasberg case is no isolated incident. In fact, legal scholars at JustSecurity.org just released an updated analysis cataloging 26 episodes in which Trump’s government violated injunctions, defied court deadlines, misled judges, rebranded illegal actions to evade court rulings, or simply refused to comply.

Judges across the spectrum, including Trump appointees, have warned:

“High deference is out; trust but verify is in.”

Another wrote:

“It’s not fair to say they’re losing credibility. We’re past that now. … There’s no credibility left.”

This marks a historic collapse of the “presumption of regularity” — the idea that the executive branch acts in good faith. The courts no longer trust the Trump administration to obey the law. That is unprecedented in American history. And it further buttresses the point that Democratic lawmaker were stressing this week: that the Trump administration is engaged in a blitz of illegality, and government workers and servicemembers have a right to refuse to participate.

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WHAT IT MEANS

Let’s recap. This is remarkable. Within two days of Trump threatening Democrats with execution for warning troops about illegal orders, we now have: a federal judge declaring Trump’s troop order illegal… military lawyers warning that his strike orders may be illegal… federal prosecutors probing illegal impersonation of federal agents… a criminal contempt inquiry into illegal deportation flights… and a national study showing 26 instances of potentially illegal violations of court orders.

In other words, the lawmakers were right. The Trump administration is putting federal employees in an impossible position. They’re asking them to do things that the courts are easily finding to be “illegal” and “unconstitutional,” and then they’re threatening those employees not to come forward. As we covered earlier this week on DEFIANCE News, the White House is readying a rule that would make it easier to punish and fire anyone who exposes misconduct, including disclosing illegal actions the president has taken.

There is good cause — just this week alone! — to be warning members of the military and civil service not to break the law on behalf of their big boss. Yet Trump has responded by threatening the people who called it out with death.

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WHAT’S NEXT

Federal courts will continue reviewing the illegality of Trump’s orders. The DOJ investigation into impersonated federal agents could escalate rapidly if grand jury material was misused. The contempt probe in the deportation case could lead to criminal exposure for senior officials. And the pressure inside the national security apparatus — where military lawyers are already dissenting internally — is approaching a breaking point.

The six lawmakers who warned troops to refuse illegal orders were not criminals. What they did was not sedition. It was not treason. It was American. And the past 48 hours prove they were absolutely correct.

Your friend, in defiance,

P.S. WHAT’S HAPPENING ON DEFIANCE NEWS

Here’s what’s coming up.

1. ***NEW TIME*** / DEFIANCE Radio / 7:30 am ET - by popular demand, we will slide the start time to our weekly broadcasts to 7:30 a.m. ET, every week day, LIVE right here on Substack. You can tune into Monday’s broadcast here. Replays will post by 9 a.m. ET.