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All 10 living former secretaries of defense signed onto a Washington Post op-ed on Sunday calling on current Pentagon leadership to conduct a transparent and smooth transition with the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden and urging military leaders to “refrain” from undermining the results of the 2020 election.

“Our elections have occurred. Recounts and audits have been conducted. Appropriate challenges have been addressed by the courts. Governors have certified the results. And the electoral college has voted,” the op-ed says. “The time for questioning the results has passed; the time for the formal counting of the electoral college votes, as prescribed in the Constitution and statute, has arrived.”

The bipartisan group of 10 former secretaries includes Mark Esper — who only recently departed the Pentagon after being fired by President Donald Trump in November — along with Ashton Carter, Dick Cheney, William Cohen, Robert Gates, Chuck Hagel, Leon Panetta, William Perry, Donald Rumsfeld, and James Mattis.

“Efforts to involve the U.S. armed forces in resolving election disputes would take us into dangerous, unlawful and unconstitutional territory,” the op-ed says. “Civilian and military officials who direct or carry out such measures would be accountable, including potentially facing criminal penalties, for the grave consequences of their actions on our republic.”

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Efforts to involve the U.S. armed forces in resolving election disputes would take us into dangerous, unlawful and unconstitutional territory.