Courtesy of WaPo:

President Trump’s attempt to manipulate military justice had a sorry outcome Sunday with the firing of Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer. For the past nine months, Spencer had tried to dissuade Trump from dictating special treatment for Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher — but in the end Spencer was sacked for his efforts to protect his service.

​With Spencer’s firing, Trump has recklessly crossed a line he had generally observed before, which had exempted the military from his belligerent, government-by-tweet interference. But the Gallagher case illustrates how an irascible, vengeful commander in chief is ready to override traditional limits to aid political allies in foreign policy, law enforcement and now military matters.

Spencer was fired by Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper late Sunday, supposedly because Esper was “deeply troubled” that Spencer had tried to work out a private deal with the White House that would avoid a direct presidential order scuttling a scheduled SEAL peer-review process. That panel was set to determine whether Gallagher would keep his coveted Trident pin, marking him as a SEAL, after he was convicted in July for posing in a trophy photo with the corpse of a Islamic State captive.

Spencer had tried to find a compromise, sources tell me, after Trump tweeted Thursday, “The Navy will NOT be taking away Warfighter and Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher’s Trident Pin.” Spencer feared that a direct order from Trump to protect Gallagher, who is represented by two former partners of Trump’s personal attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani, would be seen as subverting military justice.

Business Insider suggests that there are three reasons being given for why Spencer is out: 

There are three different explanations for what happened from Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Spencer himself, and President Donald Trump.

The Pentagon says that Esper demanded Spencer’s resignation after it was discovered that the Navy secretary had been privately negotiating with the White House and discussing plans to circumvent the military administrative process to ensure that Gallagher retired with his rank and Trident pin.

Spencer argues that he resigned on principle over a disagreement with the president, explaining in his letter that he and the president do not share the same views of the rule of the law.

Trump says that he was not pleased with the Navy’s handling of the Gallagher case, nor was he satisfied with the way the service’s leadership handled cost overruns on projects, like the Ford-class carrier.

I actually think that all three of those reasons smell of bullshit.

I think it is beyond clear that Trump did not like news reports suggesting that Spencer was pushing back against his interference with military justice and decided that he needed to go.

And that seems to be supported by Spencer’s resignation letter.

Courtesy of The Independent: 

On Sunday night Mr. Spencer wrote in a letter to Mr. Trump: “The rule of law is what sets us apart from our adversaries. Good order and discipline is what has enabled our victory against foreign tyranny time and again.

“The constitution and the uniform code of military justice are the shields that set us apart, and the beacons that protect us all. I have strived to ensure our proceedings are fair, transparent and consistent, from the newest recruit to the flag and general officer level.

“Unfortunately it has become apparent that in this respect I no longer share the same understanding with the commander in chief who appointed me. In regards to the key principle of good order and discipline, I cannot in conscience obey an order that I believe violates the sacred oath I took in the presence of my family, my flag and my faith to support and defend the constitution.”

In short, now former Navy Secretary Richard Spencer is accusing Trump of having no respect for order and discipline nor in fact the Constitution. 

Which of course we all know to be absolutely correct.