AN OPEN LETTER FROM THE STEADY STATE TO THOSE STILL ON DECK

[PDF AVAILABLE HERE]

March 20, 2026

The Steady State is a group of more than 400 former senior U.S. national security officials who believe that our national security institutions must remain apolitical, professional, and dedicated to upholding the Constitution and the rule of law. Our members, including former intelligence officers, diplomats, military leaders, prosecutors, and Congressional staffers, have served under both Democratic and Republican administrations and are deeply committed to protecting our country’s security and preserving the integrity of our nation’s security institutions.

We write to our colleagues who are serving today in the national security and homeland security communities, who are “still on deck,” to remind those now in service of a basic but essential legal obligation that applies across the federal government. Most need no reminder, and thus our letter is public, so all Americans understand the trust that they have placed in all of you.

Late last year, a group of Congress members, including CIA veteran Elise Slotkin, and Senator Kelly issued a video statement outlining the obligation of servicemembers and Intelligence Community officers to refuse unlawful orders. In that video, Senator Slotkin said “we know you are under stress and pressure.” The response from the Administration was immediate, and aggressively punitive – the Congress members were placed under investigation by both the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice, respectively, and the Department of Justice presented evidence to a Grand Jury seeking their indictment – the Grand Jury refused to return indictments.

This letter addresses the parallel obligations of the civilians who make up the bulk of the national and homeland security communities. The law matters.

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No federal employee is required to carry out an unlawful order. Ever. Authorization, classification, or direction from a superior does not convert illegal conduct into lawful conduct. Longstanding doctrine, reinforced by statute, regulation, and oath, requires refusal to participate in criminal acts and, where appropriate, reporting of such acts through lawful channels.

Federal law requires executive-branch departments and agencies, through their department or agency head or other appropriate officials, including the witness, discovery, or receipt, to ensure that credible information concerning violations of criminal law by government officers or employees acting in their official duties is promptly reported. This means that individual employees who witness, discover, or receive credible information about such crimes have a duty to bring that information to the appropriate channels so that it can be reported. This obligation is mandatory. It is not discretionary, and it is not contingent on policy preferences, political considerations, or assessments about whether a prosecution is likely to occur. This duty is related to, but distinct from, whistleblower protections.

Under 28 U.S.C. § 535(b), “[a]ny information, allegation, matter, or complaint witnessed, discovered, or received in a department or agency of the executive branch of the Government relating to violations of Federal criminal law involving Government officers and employees shall be expeditiously reported to the Attorney General by the head of the department or agency, or the witness, discoverer, or recipient.”. The statute contains no exception for classification, national security sensitivity, or seniority of the individuals involved.

This reporting obligation is reinforced by Executive Order 12333, which requires intelligence and other national security activities to be conducted in accordance with the Constitution and laws of the United States and mandates that there be a “[r]eport to the Attorney General possible violations of Federal criminal laws by employees and of specified Federal criminal laws by any other person as provided in procedures agreed upon by the Attorney General and the head of the department, agency, or establishment concerned, in a manner consistent with the protection of intelligence sources and methods, as specified in those procedures” All Intelligence Community elements, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, have Attorney General-approved mechanisms to ensure such reporting.

Every department and agency also maintains an Office of Inspector General. Inspectors General have independent statutory authority to receive allegations of criminal conduct, to refer matters to the Department of Justice, and to ensure appropriate memorialization of reports. These offices exist precisely to provide lawful, protected channels when normal supervisory routes are compromised or inappropriate.

It is important to be clear about what this obligation is and what it is not.

Crime-reporting obligations are not optional disclosures. They are not a matter of conscience or policy disagreement. They are legal duties imposed by statute and executive order. Whistleblower laws, by contrast, provide protections for reporting waste, fraud, abuse, or misconduct. While whistleblower protections may apply in parallel, the obligation to report crimes exists independently and applies whether or not an employee seeks whistleblower status.

Equally important, the duty to report crimes necessarily implies a duty to refuse to commit crimes, any of which would themselves trigger the reporting obligation.

Federal law also provides protections against retaliation for employees who make lawful reports. Inspector General statutes, whistleblower protection laws, and anti-retaliation provisions protect employees who make lawful disclosures, including disclosures of potential criminal conduct, through authorized channels. Following required and proper reporting processes ensures proper documentation and memorialization, which protects both the individual employee and the institution.

The durability of the national security enterprise depends not on loyalty to individuals but courage and fidelity to law. The obligation to report crimes and to refuse to commit them is not political. It is professional. It is statutory. It is essential to the integrity of the institutions you serve. The members of Congress ended their message saying, “Don’t Give up the Ship.” We add: “Holdfast.”