We’d refuse bad nuke call: general

WASHINGTON— A retired Air Force general told the Senate Tuesday that an order from President Trump or any of his successors to launch nuclear weapons can be refused by the top officer at U.S. Strategic Command if that order is determined to be illegal.

During testimony before the Foreign Relations Committee, retired Gen. Robert Kehler said the U.S. armed forces are obligated to follow legal orders, not illegal ones.

Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, the committee’s top Democrat, asked Kehler, who was head of Strategic Command from 2011 to 2013, if that means Strategic Command can deny the President’s order if it fails the test of proportionality and legality.

“Yes,” Kehler responded, adding such a situation would lead to a “very difficult conversation.”

Denis Slattery Attorney General Jeff Sessions testifies before House panel Tuesday. He claimed chaotic nature of the Trump campaign caused him to forget key details that he now remembers.