From PBS NewsHour.
President Donald Trump has accused a group of Democratic lawmakers of "seditious behavior, punishable by death" in a social media post.
The president was responding to a video from some House and Senate Democrats who are veterans of the U.S. armed services or intelligence community. The lawmakers called on service members to uphold the Constitution and defy "illegal orders."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer denounced Trump’s comments calling them an "outright threat" that is "deadly serious."
"Let’s be crystal clear: The president of the United States is calling for the execution of elected officials," Schumer said in his floor speech.
A reporter asked White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday whether the president wanted to execute members of Congress.
"No," Leavitt responded.
"Let’s be clear about what the president is responding to, because many in this room want to talk about the president’s response," she said. "The sanctity of our military rests on the chain of command, and if that chain of command is broken, it can lead to people getting killed."
Liz Landers has more.
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