TO: Rabbi David Eidensohn
As I write to you today, I am preparing for a difficult event that shouldn't be happening.
On Tuesday, October 23, I will be present in a federal courtroom in downtown Detroit. I am not being sued, and certainly have done nothing wrong.
My organization and I are being dragged into a courtroom, however, becauseLGBT Left activist groups are demanding that a federal judge compel me to bow to their demands.
Last February, attorneys representing LGBT activist groups served three imperious subpoenas on the Center for Military Readiness. They want to search my emails in the hope that they will find "evidence" to use in their lawsuits against President Donald Trump.
One subpoena demands that I turn over emails and other "communications" withWhite House and Pentagon officials on the subject of transgenders in the military going back to June 16, 2015, more than three years ago.
The purpose of this fishing expedition is to dig up something - anything - that might support their conspiracy theory: The idea that President Trump changed the military's transgender policies for reasons of "animus," not concerns about national defense.
The conspiracy theory is ridiculous. Nevertheless, four federal district judges already have handed down preliminary injunctions ordering President Trump to reinstate transgender policies that his predecessor, Barack Obama, imposed on our military
LGBT attorneys have served subpoenas on several conservative organizations, but CMR is the first to face a courtroom hearing on the most outrageous subpoena of all.
As part of a Seattle lawsuit called Karnoski v. Trump, attorneys for LGBT groups have filed a motion demanding that a federal judge compel CMR to produce transgender-related emails going all the way back to the first day of the 2016 presidential campaign.
On October 23, CMR's legal team will vigorously defend our First Amendmentright to communicate with government officials without intimidation or censorship.
But I really need to know - Are you with me in this fight?
Enforcement of the Seattle subpoena, and possibly two more related to theWashington, D.C. lawsuit against the Trump Administration, would impose disproportionately heavy burdens on the Center for Military Readiness and on me.
For starters, CMR would have to spend thousands of dollars on professional IT services. Then I would have to spend hours redacting private information from hundreds of emails.
This could happen even though the judge hearing the Seattle Karnoski case already ordered the government to produce the relevant information being sought. The judge added, "there is no suggestion that this evidence can be obtained from other sources."
Given this ruling, why are activist lawyers being allowed to harass CMR?
There is a name for courtroom tactics such as this. Activist attorneys are using a type of "Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation,"known by the acronym SLAPP.
With SLAPP tactics that misuse the court system, LGBT lawyers are trying to intimidate me and "chill" my rights of free speech. They also want to punishCMR for promoting values different from theirs.
In CMR's view, responsible authorities (not civilian activists or like-minded judges) should make decisions that strengthen our military, not weaken it with social burdens.
Our military defends America, and readiness to deter or fight wars must come first.
I am very grateful to Law Professor Emeritus William A. Woodruff and theThomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, who are fighting the legal attacks on CMR.
As our legal team said in letters of objection, nothing justifies subpoenas or court orders allowing LGBT activists to rummage through CMR emails.
Our articles, CMR Special Reports, and Policy Analyses about the transgender issue have been posted for everyone to see on our website, www.cmrlink.org.
We hope that high-level officials have read CMR publications and found them useful. But contrary to LGBT conspiracy theories, CMR had no direct or indirect role in the Trump Administration's process of studying and revising transgender policies.
CMR's concern is military readiness, not "animus" against anyone.
As we have been reporting for months, even before President Trump announced his intent to review and change his predecessor's transgender policies, Defense Secretary James Mattis responded to military leaders who were expressing concerns about the high costs and consequences of Obama-era transgender mandates in terms of military readiness.
Secretary Mattis ordered a six-month delay to allow for more study, and a Panel of Experts produced a full report citing recent data about transgender health care costs.
Secretary Mattis made recommendations for a new transgender policy, and President Trump endorsed the nuanced, readiness-first Mattis plan back in March.
But even before the Pentagon study was complete, an army of lawyers for theLGBT Left, including the Human Rights Campaign, the ACLU, OutServe-SLDN, and LAMDA Legal, filed lawsuits to stop President Trump from changing previous policies.
Like-minded judges in three states and the District of Columbia issuednationwide injunctions forcing President Trump to reinstate Obama-era policies. Never mind that Article III of the U.S. Constitution does not authorize judges to run the military. The administration is fighting this power grab and CMR is fighting it too.
The constitutional order is at risk here. In 2016, candidate Trump pledged tostrengthen America's armed forces and to end political correctness in the military. Trump won the election and as President he is delivering on those promises.
Now we see LGBT activists and a few lower-level federal judges trying to usurp the constitutional powers of the duly-elected Commander-in-Chief.
They are conducting a coordinated national campaign to find anything that might persuade the Supreme Court to nullify sound military policies.
The subpoenas SLAPPed on "non-party" CMR are part of this irresponsible campaign.
An order to comply with the intrusive Seattle subpoena would chill CMR's First Amendment rights to discuss matters of public policy with government officials. Such an order would violate CMR's privacy and deter potential sources of information from communicating with CMR on a trusted, confidential basis.
These consequences, which would seriously impede our work, may be the real reason that well-funded LGBT groups are targeting CMR.
I have complete trust and confidence in our legal team. They will make a compelling case at the hearing on October 23, but there is no way to know what judges will do.
You should know that necessary expenses - including filing fees, travel, and legal research - will continue to rise into thousands of dollars before this is over.
And the issues at stake here are bigger than CMR - they involve national security.
Acting like "Supreme Judicial Commanders of the Military, four activist district judges declared Trump's policies to be unconstitutional, even before the extensive Pentagon study was complete. But that's not all:
- In addition to usurping presidential prerogatives, the judges have adopted the vocabulary, assumptions, and ideology promoting the unscientific notion that human gender identity can be changed by alterations in outward appearance.
- They have also tried to reverse the election by ordering the Secretary of Defense to continue an array of controversial Obama-era mandates, including irreversible hormone treatments and body-altering surgeries, as matters of "civil rights."
- The judges ignored the medical and military consequences of accommodating persons who identify as transgender or suffer fromgender dysphoria - a serious psychological condition that used to disqualify persons from military service.
- They also ignored Obama-era policies that politicize health-care services with medical mandates that allow no dissent from commanders or health care personnel who object for reasons of medical ethics orpersonal conviction.
- The judges even refused to consider recent Military Health Servicerecords, which documented high costs and harmful consequences from transgender treatments, which studies have shown do not reduce high risks of suicide.
Elected officials, not judges, should decide the makeup of the All-Volunteer Force.
Issues in question include the eligibility of persons to serve if they are diagnosed with physical or psychological conditions that detract from deployability and readiness.
I hope I can count on you to help CMR deal with this threat. Please consider sending a generous tax-deductible contribution.
I can promise you that your contribution will be put to good use - now and after this threat is over. As the story unfolds in coming weeks, I will keep you posted.
Will you stand with me at this critical time?
To make your contribution please click on the CMR 25th Anniversary logo button below:
Thank you for reading this letter, and for considering my request for your support.
With warm regards and thanks,
President, Center for Military Readiness
PS: A platoon commander at Fort Bragg preparing to deploy soldiers overseas should not have to worry about social agendas that impede readiness. Please help CMR to promote sound policies that support our men and women who volunteer to serve.
Center for Military Readiness | P. O. Box 51600 | Livonia, MI 48151 | 734-464-9430
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