"A House Divided Cannot Stand"
- Bob O'Brien
- Dec 1, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 4, 2025
On November 18, two US senators and four members of the House of Representatives, all Democrats with military or intelligence backgrounds, released a video telling members of the military not to obey illegal orders. What illegal orders were they referring to? The legislators did not point to any specific illegal orders, but they did alarmingly claim that "this administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens." According to Reason Magazine, the video alludes to Trump's controversial uses of the armed forces, including his domestic military deployments and his summary executions of suspected drug smugglers.
The President’s reaction was immediate and predictably harsh, saying that the legislators were "traitors to our Country" who should be prosecuted for "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL." Shortly afterward it was reported that the FBI was getting involved, and it was seeking to interview the six legislators. The question, according to FBI Director Patel, "Is there a lawful predicate to open up an inquiry and investigation or is there not? And that decision will be made by the career agents and analysts here at the FBI."
In our opinion, the video presentation was unnecessary, for it is well established that all military members have the duty to disobey blatantly illegal orders. It was also unnecessary because the Federal Courts are examining those very issues that the six legislators implied were illegal; and the courts will ultimately decide whether or not the Trump Administration has acted in excess of its Constitutional authority. However, the President has grossly overreacted.
We don’t believe that the video presentation was anywhere close to being seditious and treasonous. In addition, every American has the First Amendment right of free speech, and that should go doubly so for our democratically elected legislators. I think it is dangerous for the executive branch to use its executive power to infringe upon the free speech rights of the legislative branch.
Of course, it could be worse. At this point in time, the FBI has merely contacted the Sergeants at Arms for the House of Representatives and Senate, requesting interviews with the lawmakers. What if, instead of openly seeking an interview, the FBI would secretly subpoena the private phone records of the six lawmakers, and not tell them they were under investigation?
I think if Trump‘s justice Department were to do this, most people would agree with Professor Jonathan Turley that it would constitute “an unwarranted and dangerous intrusion into the communications of the legislative branch - a serious intrusion into the confidentiality of legislators’ communications, including the potential disclosure of journalists, whistleblowers, and others “
However, If Trump were to do this, he’d have plenty of precedent backing him up. We now know, for instance, that as part of the “Artic Frost” investigation, Biden’s Justice Department subpoenaed the personal phone records of House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan in 2022 for a two-year period. The phone records show who Jordan communicated with and when those calls were made. The subpoena sought records for multiple phone numbers and included a one-year gag order signed by a D.C. magistrate judge.
We also now know that Biden’s Justice Department subpoenaed AT&T and received the personal cellular phone number of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was then the second in line of succession to the presidency of the United States.
We also now know that the Biden Justice Department monitored the phone calls of US Senators Bill Hagerty, Lindsey Graham, Cynthia Lummis, Marsha Blackburn, Ron Johnson, Josh Hawley, Dan Sullivan, Tommy Tuberville, and GOP Rep. Mike Kelly. As a result, the Biden Justice Department was able to view which phone numbers the senators called, along with the location each call originated and where it was received. They also reveal who called the Senators, when they called, and how long each call lasted. We agree with Senator Hagerty that this was an “extraordinary intrusion” into his privacy, and that it also amounted to “an unprecedented intrusion on the separation of powers.”
We wish we could say that Biden stopped with Congress, but new whistleblower-sourced records, released by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, reveal that the abuses ran far deeper. The Arctic Frost probe targeted a staggering 156 conservatives and conservative organizations across the nation. This included collecting personal cellular phone data, conducting dozens of interviews, and issuing 197 subpoenas to 34 individuals and 163 businesses, and 92 prominent conservative groups. When viewed as a whole, we agree with Senator Grassley that the “Arctic Frost was the vehicle by which FBI agents and DOJ prosecutors could improperly investigate the entire Republican political apparatus.”
We are happy to see that at least one Democratic Senator seems alarmed at the seizure of personal phone records. Senator Chris Coons of Delaware has stated that “on the surface of it, it would strike me as a significant invasion of the right of Senators to conduct their jobs, so this is something that needs urgent follow-up.”
We’ll end by citing Abraham Lincoln’s 1858 speech when he was campaigning to become a senator from Illinois. He was referring to the issue of slavery that was dividing the country. Quoting the gospel of St. Mark (3:25), he said: "A house divided against itself, cannot stand."
Lincoln’s speech applies as well to the politics of today. Our Constitution has stood the test of time and has benefitted all Americans. In the future, whether the Justice Department is seeking an interview or secretly tapping the phone records of the legislative branch, US citizens and private organizations, this abusive use of executive power has to stop now!
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