Captain Brett Crozier of the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) was relieved from duty last week because he addressed a letter to the Pentagon that was promptly leaked the press, but Navy Secretary Thomas Modly is now out of a job as well for a leak of his own.
One day after an audio recording of him telling the crew of the Roosevelt that their former captain was "stupid" leaked to the press, Modly has resigned.
Modly's Monday morning remarks to the crew prompted sailors to yell back in frustration, President Donald Trump to say he might "get involved" in the matter, and Defense Secretary Mark Esper to order Modly to apologize, two US officials tell CNN.
The acting Navy secretary issued his late-night about-face apology Monday evening, just hours after he defended his comments to the aircraft carrier's crew. But Modly's belated declaration that he does "not think Captain Brett Crozier is naïve nor stupid" was not enough to protect his job.
Modly probably thought he was doing Trump a solid by first sacking and then insulting Captain Crozier, because that's exactly what Trump would do, isn't it?
It is, but Trump is allowed to get away with things no other "president" would because everyone close to him is a loyalist lickspittle. The same rules do not apply to everyone underneath Trump; they can't get away with everything. Everyone under Trump can be sacrificed even if they were following orders from the White House.
The Washington Post reported last week that Trump personally wanted Captain Crozier gone and Modly obviously stepped up to the plate, but now the latter has paid his own price for it.
Everyone who works for Trump is eventually humiliated.