Quote:
Originally Posted by quade
What that means is that an officer can't call the President, for instance, a MFer.
What is does NOT do is prohibit them from criticizing the President, et al. for what they may or may not be doing.
Ref |
From your reference, the fourth element of the offense is:
(4) That the words used were contemptuous, either in themselves or by virtue of the circumstances under which they were used.
...
From the Manual for Courts Martial:
It is immaterial whether the [contemptuous] words are used against the official in an official or private capacity.
... and
The truth or falsity of the statements is immaterial.
and the definition from The Military Judges' Benchbook, paragraph 3-12-1d:
"Contemptuous" means insulting, rude, disdainful or otherwise disrespectfully attributing to another qualities of meanness, disreputableness, or worthlessness.
There's a lot of leeway there for the Court to decide whether or not that element has been met.