WASHINGTON | The Pentagon says it is investigating Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona for possible breaches of military law after Kelly joined Aurora Rep. Jason Crow and a handful of other lawmakers in a video that called for U.S. troops to refuse unlawful orders.
The Pentagon’s statement, which was posted on social media on Monday, cited a federal law that allows retired service members to be recalled to active duty on orders of the defense secretary for possible court-martial or other measures. Kelly served in the U.S. Navy as a fighter pilot before going on to become an astronaut. He retired at the rank of captain.
Kelly and other members of Congress accused by the Trump administration returned allegations.
Kelly pointed out his military service from age 22, his multiple deployments, astronaught career and that his wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords, being shot in the head on duty.
“In combat, I had a missile blow up next to my jet and flew through anti-aircraft fire to drop bombs on enemy targets,” Kelly said. “At NASA, I launched on a rocket, commanded the space shuttle, and was part of the recovery mission that brought home the bodies of my astronaut classmates who died on Columbia. I did all of this in service to this country that I love and has given me so much. Secretary Hegseth’s tweet is the first I heard of this. I also saw the President’s posts saying I should be arrested, hanged, and put to death. If this is meant to intimidate me and other members of Congress from doing our jobs and holding this administration accountable, it won’t work. I’ve given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution.”
Aurora Democratic Rep. Jason Crow, who was also threatened by Trump and other members of the administration, also rebuked Monday’s action by the Pentagon.
“You can’t bully a patriot,” Crow said in a social media post on X. “I stand with (Kelly). This is a decisive moment. Trump is trying to incite violence, intimidate, and punish those who speak up to hold him accountable. But the only thing we fear is not rising to this moment and defending the country we love. Nothing will stop us from upholding our oath and defending the Constitution.”
It is extraordinary for the Pentagon, which until the second Trump term has usually gone out of its way to act and appear apolitical, to directly threaten a sitting member of Congress with investigation.
In its statement, the Pentagon suggested that Kelly’s statements in the video interfered with the “loyalty, morale, or good order and discipline of the armed forces” by citing the federal law that prohibits such actions.
“A thorough review of these allegations has been initiated to determine further actions, which may include recall to active duty for court-martial proceedings or administrative measures,” the statement said.
In the video that was posted last Tuesday, Kelly was one of six lawmakers who served in the military or intelligence community to speak “directly to members of the military.”
Kelly told troops “you can refuse illegal orders,” and other lawmakers said they needed troops to “stand up for our laws … our Constitution.”
Other Senate Democrats came to Kelly’s defense, with Democratic leader Chuck Schumer accusing Trump of using the Pentagon “as his personal attack dog” and saying “this is what dictators do.”
His fellow Democratic Arizona senator, Ruben Gallego, said “Mark told the truth — in America, we swear an oath to the Constitution, not wannabe kings.”
President Donald Trump last week accused Aurora Congressperson Jason Crow and five other Democratic lawmakers of sedition “punishable by DEATH” after the lawmakers — all veterans of the armed services and intelligence community — called on U.S. military members to uphold the Constitution and defy “illegal orders.”
The 90-second video was first posted early Tuesday from Sen. Elissa Slotkin’s X account. In it, the six lawmakers — Slotkin, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, and Reps. Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander and Chrissy Houlahan — speak directly to U.S. service members, whom Slotkin acknowledges are “under enormous stress and pressure right now.”
“The American people need you to stand up for our laws and our Constitution,” Slotkin wrote in the X post.
Trump on Thursday reposted messages from others about the video, amplifying it with his own words. It marked another flashpoint in the political rhetoric that at times has been thematic in his administrations, as well as among some in his MAGA base. Some Democrats accused him of acting like a king and trying to distract from the soon-to-be-released files about disgraced financier and sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein.
“We are veterans and national security professionals who love this country and swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. The oath lasts a lifetime, and we intend to keep it. No threat, intimidation, or call for violence will deter us from that sacred obligation,” the Democrats said in a joint statement. “This isn’t about politics. This is about who we are as Americans. Every American must unite and condemn the President’s calls for our murder and political violence. This is a time for moral clarity.”
What Democrats said in the video
With pieces of dialogue spliced together from different members, the lawmakers introduce themselves and their background. They go on to say the Trump administration “is pitting our uniformed military against American citizens. They call for service members to “refuse illegal orders” and “stand up for our laws.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a post to his personal social media account, said Kelly was the only lawmaker targeted for investigation because he is the only one who formally retired from the military and thus is still under the Pentagon’s jurisdiction.
“Kelly’s conduct brings discredit upon the armed forces and will be addressed appropriately,” Hegseth added.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell also released a statement, saying, “Our military follows orders, and our civilians give legal orders.”
“These politicians are out of their minds,” Parnell added.
Speaking Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Kelly said Trump’s words were “very serious” and “carry tremendous weight.” Kelly added that “because of what he says there is now increased threats against us.” Troops, especially uniformed commanders, do have a specific obligations to reject orders that are unlawful, if they make that determination.
While commanders have military lawyers on their staffs to consult with in making such a determination, rank-and-file troops who are tasked with carrying out those orders are rarely in a similar position and often have to rely on their superiors.
Broad legal precedence also holds that just following orders, colloquially known as the “Nuremberg defense” as it was used unsuccessfully by senior Nazi officials to justify their actions under Adolf Hitler, doesn’t absolve troops.
Yet the reaction from troops to the video online has been almost nonexistent.
A former servicemember who helps run an online military forum said the lawmakers’ message from last week is unlikely even to reach troops because the video was posted only on Twitter and was far too long to be reposted on platforms like TikTok where troops actually consume information. He spoke on condition of anonymity to speak candidly and avoid retaliation.
The military has had a proud heritage of being nonpolitical. Once you politicize it, we become like Thord world countries where the military is just a political arm to suppress the people. Repeating to the military that they can refuse to obey unlawful orders is far from treason. It simply repeats their training. For old “bone spurs'” lackeys to abuse their positions to pursue political enemies, is a sad commentary on where we are.
The DoJ & DoD have been corrupted and can no longer be trusted for the security of the USA. These are sad times.
A similar seditious argument was used by the Democrats while they were fighting to keep slavery in the USA. According to Abraham Lincoln:
“Must I shoot a simple-minded soldier boy who deserts, while I must not touch a hair of a wily agitator who induces him to desert? This is none the less injurious when effected by getting a father, or brother, or friend, into a public meeting, and there working upon his feeling, till he is persuaded to write the soldier boy, that he is fighting in a bad cause, for a wicked administration of a contemptable government, too weak to arrest and punish him if he shall desert. I think that in such a case, to silence the agitator, and save the boy, is not only constitutional, but, withal, a great mercy.”
Democrats are doing what democrats do.
Democrats are performing their patriotic duty. Namely, resisting a dense, spoiled baby who has captured the Republican Party.
There was a time when if either party had nominated an ignorant, lazy, money-grubbing egomaniac who sees the Office of the Presidency as a golden opportunity to grift as much as he can while ignoring the country and his duty to be a president for all the people. There was a time when Americans understood what a president should be. Now, Republicans have no interest in that. Instead, they have foisted a needy, egotistical ignoramus who knows nothing about anything except removing the money from your pocket to deposit it in his.
Nobel Prize? Booby prize, more like.