Contempt towards officials is addressed in the Punitive articles, specifically Article 88 of the U.S. Uniform Code of Military Justice

Uniform Code of Military Justice

The Uniform Code of Military Justice , is the foundation of military law in the United States. It is was established by the United States Congress in accordance with the authority given by the United States Constitution in Article I, Section 8, which provides that "The Congress shall have Power . ....

 in the Manual for Courts-Martial

Manual for Courts-Martial

The Manual for Courts-Martial is the official guide to the conduct of Courts-martial in the United States military. An Executive Order of the President of the United States, the MCM details and expands on the military law in the Uniform Code of Military Justice...

 (MCM), United States (2008 Edition) as follows:

Elements

1. That the accused was a commissioned officer of the United States armed forces
   United States armed forces
   The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
   
   ;
2. That the accused used certain words against an official or legislature named in the article;
3. That by an act of the accused these words came to the knowledge of a person other than the accused; and
4. That the words used were contemptuous, either in themselves or by virtue of the circumstances under which they were used.
   (Note: If the words were against a Governor or legislature, add the following element:)
5. That the accused was then present in the State, Territory, Commonwealth, or possession of the Governor or legislature concerned.

Explanation

The official or legislature against whom the words are used must be occupying one of the offices or be one of the legislatures named in Article 88 at the time of the offense. Neither “Congress” nor “legislature” includes its members individually. “Governor” does not include “lieutenant governor.” It is immaterial whether the words are used against the official in an official or private capacity. If not personally contemptuous, adverse criticism

Criticism

Criticism is the judgement of the merits and faults of the work or actions of an individual or group by another . To criticize does not necessarily imply to find fault, but the word is often taken to mean the simple expression of an objection against prejudice, or a disapproval.Another meaning of...

 of one of the officials or legislatures named in the article in the course of a political discussion, even though emphatically expressed, may not be charged as a violation of the article.

Similarly, expressions of opinion made in a purely private conversation should not ordinarily be charged. Giving broad circulation to a written publication containing contemptuous words of the kind made punishable by this article, or the utterance of contemptuous words of this kind in the presence of military subordinates, aggravates the offense. The truth or falsity of the statements is immaterial

United States defamation law

The origins of United States defamation law pre-date the American Revolution; one famous 1734 case involving John Peter Zenger established some precedent that the truth should be an absolute defense against libel charges. Though the First Amendment of the U.S...

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Maximum punishment

Dismissal, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 1 year.

Source

This article incorporates text from Manual for Courts-Martial, a public domain

Public domain

Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...

 work of the United States Government

Work of the United States Government

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