The Pentagon said Monday it might recall Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) to active duty to court-martial or otherwise punish him for telling military service members they “can refuse illegal orders.” Kelly, a retired Navy combat veteran and astronaut, was one of six lawmakers who reminded service members of their legal obligations in a video last week, but he was the only one still subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said. President Donald Trump accused the lawmakers of “sedition.”
Who said what
The Pentagon said it launched a “thorough review” after purportedly receiving “serious allegations of misconduct” against Kelly. Hegseth said on social media that “the ‘Seditious Six’” had encouraged “our warriors to ignore the orders of their commanders,” and Kelly’s “conduct” will “be addressed appropriately.”
“Experts on military law said the inquiry was almost unprecedented,” The Washington Post said. Setting aside the legal and constitutional issues of the Pentagon trying to discipline a sitting senator at the behest of the defense secretary and president, Kelly’s remarks were “a 100% accurate representation of what the law says,” Yale Law School military justice expert Eugene Fidell told The Wall Street Journal. “No American citizen should have to deal with this type of preposterous investigation.”
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What next?
“If this is meant to intimidate me” and other lawmakers, “it won’t work,” Kelly said on social media. “I’ve given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution.” The targeting of Kelly, Reuters said, “could be seen as a message” to top military officers recently purged by Hegseth, “who have stayed silent following their removals.”