Former US ambassadors to Bulgaria among signatories of ‘Assault on American Democracy: Call to Action’ letter
Four former United States ambassadors to Bulgaria are among more than 200 former senior US diplomatic and security leaders who have signed an open letter that says that President Trump and his administration have assaulted the pillars of US democracy and the country’s strength around the world.
The letter is titled “The Assault on American Democracy: A Call to Action”.
Signatories include Avis Bohlen, US ambassador to Bulgaria from 1996 to 1999 and a former Assistant Secretary of State, John Beyrle, US ambassador to Bulgaria from 2005 to 2008, Nancy McEldowney, US ambassador to Bulgaria from 2008 to 2009 and former National Security Adviser to the Vice President, and Eric Rubin, US ambassador to Bulgaria from 2016 to 2019 and former President of the American Foreign Service Association.
This is the text of the letter, with the full list of signatories below:
As American diplomats around the world and national security leaders here at home, we saw no greater cause than serving our fellow citizens. We swore to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Foreign and domestic. None of us thought the second part of that phrase wouldever come into play — until now.
American global leadership has depended on many factors, including political, economic, and military power. But most important was the moral foundation for that power — America as an example to others. Though our actions didn’t always live up to our ideals, we stood for simple but powerful ideas that people everywhere embraced: democracy, equality, individual liberty, and human rights.
That moral foundation is now in grave danger. The challenge comes from within, as President Trump and his administration have assaulted the pillars of our democracy here at home and our strength around the world.
Internationally, Trump has questioned the value of long-standing alliances in Europe and Asia. On our borders, he has poisoned ties with our closest neighbors. He has undermined the bedrock principle of world peace that sovereign borders will be respected. The United States now seeks to lay claim to Greenland, the Panama Canal, and Canada, greenlighting other countries to proceed as they see fit, most notably Russia in Ukraine. The global economic order that ushered in a period of unparalleled prosperity for Americans is being undermined by Trump’s senseless tariffs and war on legally binding trade agreements. America as the first responder to global humanitarian crises becomes a distant memory with the dismantling of USAID.
Domestically, Trump is aggressively eliminating constraints on his power and fomenting fear. He is intimidating independent media outlets with frivolous lawsuits. Our universities are retreating from freedom of speech because of explicit threats to withdraw federal monies. Our law firms are being bludgeoned into denying representation to anyone whom this administration does not like. Our medical research centers are seeing an exodus of experts forced out by an administration that does not believe in basic science. Congress and the Department of Justice threaten to impeach sitting judges that rule against the government. Federal trade unions have been shut down by executive order. State governments that challenge the administration face cuts in federal funding. A racist, misogynistic and homophobic mindset is leading to the erasure of history
and national heroes at our cultural institutions. In a country with a proud history of immigration, legal residents are being illegally deported for expressing an opinion. People are whisked off the street by masked officials in unmarked cars or sent off to imprisonment abroad without due process. Trump talks publicly about an unconstitutional third term without a word of concern from his own party.
American democracy and American security are inextricably linked; weaken one and the other inevitably begins to fail. As patriots and public servants from both parties who worked to protect America over many decades, we see that link unraveling at lightning speed. Many of us have served in countries where democratically elected leaders followed a path to autocracy, and we know this crisis requires an urgent and unified response. As a result, we call for the following:
–Former senior officials, including presidents, secretaries of state, secretaries of defense, and chiefs of staff of our military services must jointly and publicly challenge the administration’s dangerous policies and dismantling of essential institutions.
–Business leaders must condemn Trump’s disastrous trade policy which is plunging the global economy into chaos and disrupting supply chains that support millions of jobs.
–Medical institutions, like the CDC, NIH, and major research centers around the country must defend science with non-partisan funding of medical investigation and warn of the dangers of abandoning global engagement on pandemic prevention.
–Universities and media must protect free speech. Without a unified stance, they will be picked off one-by-one and first amendment rights for every American will be in peril.
–Our largest law firms must remain guardians of the rule of law by resisting administration pressure to undermine the legal system of checks and balances which is so fundamental to our democracy.
–Finally, politicians on both sides of the aisle who believe in the core values of our constitution must actively oppose the administration’s efforts to undermine our national security, our freedoms, and our democracy. Waiting passively for the electoral calendar to fight back does nothing more than give the administration additional time and running room to impose its authoritarian stamp ever more securely on government and on all of us.
No American should be silent. No American who cares about our freedoms, our institutions, and our identity as a nation can afford to be a bystander. Each of us in different walks of life must do what we can — speak out, mobilize, defend our way of life. The moment requires nothing less. We must recognize the seriousness of what is taking place and act collectively to restore our democracy and our security. If we do not, the American ideals of liberty, prosperity, and equality will quickly become relics of the past.
Bernadette Allen
US Ambassador, retired
Rand Beers
Former Deputy Homeland Security Advisor
Mark Bellamy
US Ambassador, retired
John Beyrle
US Ambassador, retired
James Bishop
US Ambassador, retired
Charles Blaha
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
Anne Bodine
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
Avis Bohlen
US Ambassador, retired
Former Assistant Secretary of State
Michele Bond
US Ambassador, retired
Former Assistant Secretary of State
Paul L. Boyd
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
Aurelia Brazeal
US Ambassador, retired
Sue Bremner
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
Steven Browning
US Ambassador, retired
Former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
David Buckley
Former Inspector General, Central Intelligence Agency
Susan F. Burk
Former Special Representative of the President
Peter Burleigh
US Ambassador, retired
Scott Busby
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
Prudence Bushnell
US Ambassador, retired
John Butler
Rear Admiral, U. S. Navy, retired
Constance Carrino
Senior Foreign Service Officer, USAID, retired
Steven Cash
Former Senior Advisor, DHS
Former Chief Counsel to Senator Feinstein Former CIA Officer
Asha Castleberry-Hernandez
Senior Executive Service, DOD, retired
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
Phillip Chicola
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
Roberta Cohen
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
Ellen Conway
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
Frances Cook
US Ambassador, retired
Sarah Cook
Senior Foreign Commercial Service Officer, retired
Thomas Countryman
Former Assistant Secretary of State
Ruth Davis
US Ambassador, retired
Former Director General of the US Foreign Service
David Davison
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
Greg Delawie
US Ambassador, retired
Christopher Dell
US Ambassador, retired
Anne E. Derse
US Ambassador, retired
Vicki Divoll
Former General Counsel, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
Melvin Dubee
Former Deputy Staff Director, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
Martha Duncan
Senior Executive Service, DOD, retired
William Eacho
Former Ambassador to Austria
William Eaton
US Ambassador, retired
Luigi Einaudi
US Ambassador, retired
Jonathan Elkind
Former Assistant Secretary of Energy
Nancy Ely-Raphel
US Ambassador, retired
Gregory Engle
US Ambassador, retired
Joseph Fallone
Captain, US Navy, retired
John Feeley
US Ambassador, retired
Former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
Gerald Feierstein
US Ambassador, retired
Former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
Jeffrey Feltman
US Ambassador, retired
Former Assistant Secretary of State
Mark Fitzpatrick
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
Kathleen Fitzpatrick
US Ambassador, retired
Mike Fitzpatrick
US Ambassador, retired
Karen Freeman
Senior Foreign Service Officer, USAID, retired
Bennett Freeman
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
Susan Kosinski Fritz
Senior Foreign Service Officer, USAID, retired
Laurie Fulton
Former US Ambassador to Denmark
Julie Furuta-Toy
US Ambassador, retired
Rosemary Gallant
Senior Foreign Commercial Officer, retired
Melvin Gamble
Senior Intelligence Officer, CIA, retired
William Garvelink
US Ambassador, retired
Brian Goldbeck
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
Former Special Assistant to the President
Rose Gottemoeller
Former Undersecretary of State
Deborah Graze
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
Eric Green
Former Special Assistant to the President
Jennifer Gregg
Senior Intelligence Officer, retired
Laura Griesmer
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
Anne Gruner
Senior Intelligence Officer, CIA, retired
Sheila Gwaltney
US Ambassador, retired
Brent Hartley
US Ambassador, retired
Patricia Haslach
US Ambassador, retired
William Haugh
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
John Heffern
US Ambassador, retired
Robert Herman
Former Policy Planning Staff, Department of State
Catherine Hill-Herndon
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
Heather Hodges
US Ambassador, retired
Elizabeth Hopkins
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
Sharon Houy
Former Chief of Staff, Defense Intelligence Agency
Jeff Hovenier
US Ambassador, retired
Vicki Huddleston
US Ambassador, retired
Robert Hutchings
Former Chairman, National Intelligence Council
Charles Ikins
Colonel, US Marine Corps, retired
Robert Jackson
US Ambassador, retired
Former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary
Susan Jacobs
US Ambassador, retired
Ali Jalili
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
Oliver John
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
Kathy Johnson
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
US Ambassador, retired
Beth Jones
US Ambassador, retired
Former Assistant Secretary of State
John Jones
US Ambassador, retired
Denis Kaufman
Senior Chief Petty Officer, US Navy, retired
Richard Kauzlarich
US Ambassador, retired
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
Yvonne Keeler
Senior Intelligence Officer, CIA, retired
Ian Kelly
US Ambassador, retired
Herbert Kemp
Colonel, US Air Force, retired
Laura Kennedy
US Ambassador, retired
Patrick Kennedy
US Ambassador, retired
Former Under Secretary of State
Donald Kerrick
Lieutenant General, U. S. Army, retired Former Deputy National Security Advisor
Scott Kilner
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
Former Legal Adviser to the Secretary of State
Former Assistant Secretary of State
Christopher Kojm
Former Chair, National Intelligence Council
James Kovar
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
Thomas Krajeski
US Ambassador, retired
Anne Kremidas
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
James Kunder
Former Deputy Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development
Daniel Kurtzer
US Ambassador, retired
Former Assistant Secretary of State
Anthony Lake
Former National Security Advisor
Eileen Laubacher
Rear Admiral, US Navy, retired
James Lawler
Senior Intelligence Officer, CIA, retired
Suzan LeVine
Former US Ambassador to Switzerland
Dawn Liberi
US Ambassador, retired
Carmen Lomellin
US Ambassador, retired
Frank Loy
Former Under Secretary of State
Deborah Malac
US Ambassador, retired
Eileen Malloy
US Ambassador, retired
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary State
Angela Maloney
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
Noah Mamet
Former US Ambassador to Argentina
Lawrence Mandel
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
Steven Mann
US Ambassador, retired
Niels Marquardt
US Ambassador, retired
Dennise Mathieu
US Ambassador, retired
Deborah McCarthy
US Ambassador, retired
Bill McCulla
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
Nancy McEldowney
US Ambassador, retired
Former National Security Advisor to the Vice President
Former US Ambassador to Russia
Elizabeth McKune
US Ambassador, retired
James Melville, Jr.
US Ambassador, retired
Leo Michel
Senior Executive Service, DoD, retired
Thomas Miller
US Ambassador, retired
Derek Mitchell
Former US Ambassador to Burma (Myanmar)
Luis Moreno
US Ambassador, retired
Joseph Myers
Former Chief Risk Officer, US International Development Finance Corporation
James Nealon
US Ambassador, retired
Brian H. Nilsson
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
Suzanne Nossel
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
Joseph Nye
Former Assistant Secretary of Defense
Geoffrey Odlum
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
US Ambassador, retired
Maurice S, Parker
US Ambassador, retired
David Passage
US Ambassador, retired
Michael Pelletier
US Ambassador, retired
Robert Perry
US Ambassador, retired
David Petri
Commander, US Navy, retired
James Petti
US Ambassador, retired
Annie Pforzheimer
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
Randal Phillips
Senior Intelligence Officer, CIA, retired
William Piekney
Senior Intelligence Officer, CIA, retired
Steven Pifer
US Ambassador, retired
Michael Polt
US Ambassador, retired
Former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
Michael Posner
Former Assistant Secretary of State
Former Spokesperson, Department of State
Charles Ray
US Ambassador, retired
Helen Reed-Rowe
US Ambassador, retired
Stacy Rhodes
Senior Foreign Service Officer, USAID, retired
Susan Rice
Former National Security Advisor
Former U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
John Ries
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
Thomas Robertson
US Ambassador, retired
Enrique Roig
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
Peter Romero
US Ambassador, retired
Former Assistant Secretary of State
Jeremy Rosner
Former Special Assistant to the President
Leslie Rowe
US Ambassador, retired
Eric Rubin
US Ambassador, retired
Former President, American Foreign Service Association
Richard Sanders
Senior Executive Service, DoD, retired
Janet Sanderson
US Ambassador, retired
Teresita Schaffer
US Ambassador, retired
Mark Schneider
Former Assistant Administrator, USAID
Former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
Eric Schwartz
Former Assistant Secretary of State
Kyle Scott
US Ambassador, retired
Tod Sedgwick
Former US Ambassador the Slovak Republic
Michael Senko
US Ambassador, retired
Mattie Sharpless
US Ambassador, retired
Dana Shell Smith
US Ambassador, retired
Dilpreet Sidhu
Former Executive Secretary of the National Security Council
Emil Skodon
US Ambassador, retired
Former Counsel and Foreign Policy Advisor to Senator Jeffrey Merkley
Sylvia Stanfield
US Ambassador, retired
Gregory Starr
Former Assistant Secretary of State
Adam Sterling
US Ambassador, retired
Clyde Taylor
US Ambassador, retired
Harry Thomas
US Ambassador, retired
Former Director General of the Foreign Service
Linda Thomas-Greenfield
US Ambassador, retired
Former U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
Susan Thornton
Former Assistant Secretary of State
Thomas Tiernan
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
Charles Uphaus
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
Kurt van der Walde
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
Alexander Vershbow
US Ambassador, retired
Former Deputy Secretary General of NATO
Former Assistant Secretary of Defense
US Ambassador, retired
Patricia Wagner
Senior Commercial Service Officer, retired
Alexander Watson
Former Assistant Secretary of State
Linda Watt
US Ambassador, retired
John Wecker
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
Bruce Wharton
US Ambassador, retired
Kevin Whitaker
US Ambassador, retired
Pamela White
US Ambassador, retired
Stephanie Williams
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
Former Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General
Bisa William
US Ambassador, retired
Jonathan Winer
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
David Thomas Wolfson
Senior Foreign Service Officer, retired
Marcia Wong
Former Deputy Assistant Administrator, USAID
US Ambassador, retired
Stephen Young
US Ambassador, retired
Marie Yovanovitch
US Ambassador, retired
Former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
Jane Zimmerman
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
Ricardo Zuniga
Former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
(Photo: Ayingel)
