A trio of House Democrats on Tuesday called on Army officials to formally admonish former President Donald Trump for his campaign staff’s actions at Arlington National Cemetery last month in order to “avoid future abuse of this sacred site and its employees.”
The lawmakers — Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, Washington Rep. Adam Smith and California Rep. Mark Takano — also demanded the military leaders release all findings from Trump’s visit to the gravesite, saying that their public response thus far has been disappointing.
“While we are sympathetic to the challenges the Army faces in addressing and holding accountable a former president and his campaign staff, failure to properly investigate this egregious incident in a timely manner and hold violators accountable undermines the integrity and honor of Arlington National Cemetery and erodes the longstanding rules, tradition, and norms requiring nonpartisanship in the U.S. military,” they said in a joint statement.
Raskin serves as the ranking member on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. Smith is the ranking member on the armed services committee, and Takano the ranking member on the veterans’ affairs committee.
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The statement from the prominent Democrats came just a few hours before Trump’s debate with Vice President Kamala Harris and less than two weeks after Army leaders issued their own announcement calling the matter “closed.”
Trump visited the military cemetery on Aug. 26 as part of an event commemorating the anniversary of the deaths of 13 U.S. servicemembers in a terrorist bombing at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in the final days of the American military mission in Afghanistan.
The Republican nominee for president took part in a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, then visited Section 60 of the cemetery, where many troops killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are buried.
Shots of Trump smiling and giving a thumbs-up sign alongside service members’ tombstones were later used in campaign spots. In addition, Army officials said, an employee who attempted to stop campaign workers from filming in the area “was abruptly pushed aside” by a Trump campaign staffer.
That individual — who has not been publicly identified — opted not to press charges. Army officials called the incident upsetting, since Trump was warned that “federal laws, Army regulations and DOD policies … clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds.” But they also said they would not pursue any further reprimands or punishments.
The three Democrats called that a mistake.
“As with any alleged assault, this incident should be investigated by the appropriate law enforcement authorities and should be subject to an independent charging decision,” they said in their statement. “We urge the Army to cooperate fully with the charging authority, including providing any information they have on the alleged incident to that authority.”
Trump campaign officials have denied any wrongdoing in the incident, and have released several statements from families of fallen troops involved in the visit who praised the former president for his kindness and attention to their struggles.
Trump campaign officials initially promised to release video proving that they followed all appropriate cemetery rules, but have thus far declined to provide any such proof.
Officials from the Harris campaign have seized on the controversy as the latest breach of decorum by Trump, calling his actions disrespectful to other troops buried there. .
Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.
