This Thanksgiving, when millions of military members sit down with their families to eat turkey, they will likely discuss Crow. Colorado U.S. Rep. Jason Crow’s media lust led him to create an unprecedented video designed to instill doubt in our military in the chain of command whose orders they rely upon for mission accomplishment here and abroad.

Crow is a former Airborne Ranger who has deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan on behalf of our country, where he served honorably and at risk to his life and those of the troops he led. Recent social media screeds that label Crow a “traitor” are wrong. He is a patriot who knows well the challenges and sacrifices our troops face. Crow knows better than to put at risk the indispensable faith our troops must have in their chain of command.

He went after their oath.

Each enlisted member of our armed forces takes the same oath: “I will obey the orders of the president of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.” They are well-trained in following orders — which are presumptively lawful — and not following illegal orders. They do not need, nor have they ever received positive value from a handful of congressional members suggesting their superiors’ orders should be scrutinized and doubted.

On Nov. 18, five days after a puff piece of a profile in The Washington Post, Crow introduced a resolution to block the Trump administration from blowing up Venezuelan drug boats and then inexplicably released a video encouraging our military members to question their orders.

Crow begins by making It clear who he and his veteran colleagues are trying to influence — not inform, but influence: “We want to speak directly to members of the military….” He knows well how toxic doubt is to a military command dependent upon the faithful execution of its orders.

Far from a mere “reminder” of what the law is — as Crow later claimed when questioned about his video’s intent — he attempts to create a sense of urgency of action.

The short video makes repeated use of the phrase “right now,” and Crow himself pleads “now more than ever” Americans want those young soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen to act — in contravention of their orders. Crow encourages those young military members to doubt their chain of command by telling them that Americans’ trust in them “is at risk,” because “this administration is pitting our uniform military…against American citizens.” Crow then suggests that the same administration represents “threats to our Constitution…coming…from right here at home.” Yikes.

Crow then pushes those service members to act on the urgent doubt he created by suggesting they “are under enormous stress and pressure,” that “this is hard,” and that they don’t have to follow orders they believe are illegal. In fact, they “must” refuse to follow them. Crow’s most specious line is at the end — when he assures those order-disobeying service members he creates, “We have your back.” Huh?

Nobody has asked Crow what that means. What will Crow do when soldiers are court-martialed, and their families’ benefits are ended for refusing to follow lawful orders, because they were convinced by Crow’s video to take urgent, but misguided action? He is powerless to do more for them than make another video.

The blow-back from the video was instant. Crow and his Band of Doubters struggled to answer the predictable question “which illegal orders?” Crow responded “we are not calling on folks right now to disobey any type of unlawful order…” What?

Michigan’s U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin said “to my knowledge, I am not aware of things that are illegal….” When those answers proved unpersuasive, Crow and his political posse invented potential illegal orders that have never been given, while they made the rounds on any show that would have them.

Crow was on the verge of eating crow. He was saved by POTUS, whose style is to hit on 19 (blackjack), rather than take the sure win. It has allowed Crow to play victim and distract from his blunder. Back again on the news circuit, questions of “what were you thinking” were replaced with “how are you feeling?”

From atop his soap box, Crow declared that he would not be intimidated by POTUS and then made the bizarre claim that his reckless video was made because, “I have a job to do and that is to ensure people follow the law….” Nope. Crow is describing a different branch of government, called the “executive branch.” In fact, outside of changes to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and other related Article I acts and declaring war, Crow and his congressional collaborators have no role in leading our military. Maybe that is his confusion: Crow misunderstands his role in government.

Crow turned to the insulting defense “we were just informing them of the law and their oath.” Nonsense. Later, Crow acknowledged that the military is supremely well-trained in this area and would not be persuaded to challenge the lawful authority above them just because some ambitious politicians told them to. Then why do it? There is no precedent for such action by congressional members. Unless it is pure politics, the timing is inexplicable.

Crow and his political pals encourage “don’t give up the ship.” Coloradans should not give up common sense. It isn’t sedition or any other violation of the law. But it was dangerous and Crow was wrong. He should apologize to the military and remind them to trust their superiors. That is what a real leader would do.

George Brauchler is the 23rd Judicial District attorney and former district attorney for the 18th Judicial District. He has served as an Owens Early Criminal Justice Fellow at the Common Sense Institute. Follow him on X: @GeorgeBrauchler