Bondi Filing Undercuts Trump as Legal Argument Says Troops Must Disobey Him
Pam Bondi, now serving as U.S. attorney general, previously argued in a Supreme Court filing that American service members are legally required to refuse unlawful orders from the president. The position, submitted last year when Bondi worked for a conservative think tank, resurfaced this week as questions about presidential power and military obedience intensify.
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In that brief, Bondi told the Court that members of the armed forces could be committing crimes if they carried out “patently unlawful” orders. She used a hypothetical raised during oral arguments—whether a president could order SEAL Team 6 to assassinate a political rival—to make the point that the military is obligated to reject illegal commands. “Service members are required not to do so,” Bondi wrote, emphasizing that the Uniform Code of Military Justice does not protect troops who follow clearly unlawful directives.
Military law experts say Bondi’s position reflects long-standing doctrine: troops must obey lawful orders but have a duty to disobey commands that violate U.S. or international law. That threshold, known as “manifest unlawfulness,” applies only to orders that are obviously illegal, such as killing unarmed civilians or committing war crimes.
The resurfaced filing comes as the administration faces broader scrutiny over limits on presidential authority and the scope of executive immunity. Some legal analysts warn that recent court decisions may blur the boundaries around unlawful orders, increasing the risk of confusion inside the chain of command. Bondi’s brief, however, underscores a foundational rule of military service: even the commander in chief cannot compel troops to carry out illegal acts.