What does the Constitution’s oath of office mean?

OPINION:

Now that the Trump administration has let us know it attacked and sunk a third boat in the Caribbean, hasn’t even offered a guess this time as to how many people were killed by American sailors and asked (once again) to be trusted about the contents of the ships sunk, perhaps it is time to think about the value of due process.

Some of my friends disagree and have asked about my curious stance on due process, declarations of war and all sorts of quaint notions left over from the 18th century. Unfortunately, just about all these people have taken the Constitution’s oath of office not once but multiple times.

For those who may have never heard or read the oath of office, it goes like this: “I, Michael McKenna, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”

Very straightforward, very direct. The pledge is not to a man, a party, a regime, a set of ideals or even to a nation. It is a pledge to uphold the supreme law of the land — all of the supreme law of the land, not just the parts you like, those with which you agree or those that may serve your purposes at the moment.

After the initial attack on the ship in the Caribbean, some suggested that it and the subsequent infliction of casualties may have constituted a war crime. In response, a senior official in the administration — who has taken the oath at least three times and who is a faithful officer of the court — expressed his complete lack of concern for whether it may have been a war crime.

A diligent reader of this column is a retired colonel. In the armed forces, one usually takes the oath upon being promoted to a new rank. That means the colonel has taken the oath at least five times. He dismisses questions about due process with the universal: “I am with the Donald on this.”

I also trust President Trump, certainly compared with the alternative. I can think of no one who better understands than Mr. Trump that the power of the state, if not restrained in some way, can quickly become abusive. Due process, including something as old-fashioned as declaring war, is really all about constraining the power of the state.

It is also about the quality of outcomes. It is not and cannot be coincidental that the most recent war we declared was also the most recent war we won. Similarly, due process almost always ensures that we convict and jail those who are guilty and deserve jail.

If you have taken the oath, and I know many of you have, you might want to think about the words of the oath and what you have committed yourself to do. Then act accordingly.

• Michael McKenna is a contributing editor at The Washington Times. He has taken the oath of office three times.