Pentagon says it’s investigating Sen. Mark Kelly for video urging troops to defy ‘illegal orders’
WASHINGTON AP The Pentagon says it is exploring Democratic Sen Mark Kelly of Arizona for viable breaches of military law after Kelly joined a handful of other lawmakers in a video that called for U S troops to refuse unlawful orders The Pentagon s announcement which was posted on social media on Monday cited a federal law that allows retired amenity members to be recalled to ongoing duty on orders of the defense secretary for feasible 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 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 scrutiny In its comment 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 accusations has been initiated to determine further actions which may include recall to developing duty for court-martial proceedings or administrative measures the announcement explained In the video that was posted last Tuesday Kelly was one of six lawmakers who served in the military or intelligence neighborhood to speak directly to members of the military Kelly narrated troops you can refuse illegal orders and other lawmakers revealed they needed troops to stand up for our laws our Constitution Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in a post to his personal social media account declared Kelly was the only lawmaker targeted for research 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 Days after the video was distributed President Donald Trump accused the lawmakers of sedition punishable by DEATH in a social media post Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell also distributed a declaration 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 revealed 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 Kelly s office did not right now respond Monday to a request for comment on the Pentagon assessment 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 functionaries 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 noted the lawmakers message from last week is unlikely even to reach troops because the video was posted only on X and was far too long to be reposted on platforms like TikTok where troops veritably consume information He spoke on condition of anonymity to speak candidly and avoid retaliation Source
