Pentagon ‘Escalating Preliminary Review’ of ‘Serious Allegations’ Against Sen. Kelly
Last month, Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the Navy to review Kelly for “potentially unlawful comments” regarding the Seditious Six video.
The Department of War told Breitbart News that it has escalated its investigation into Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) for serious allegations of unlawful comments.
Last month, Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the Navy to review Kelly for “potentially unlawful comments” regarding the Seditious Six video.
In the video, six Democrats encouraged the military to defy “illegal orders.”
The official said:
The Office of the Secretary of War, in conjunction with the Department of War’s Office of the General Counsel, is escalating the preliminary review of Captain Mark Kelly, USN (Ret.), to an official Command Investigation. Retired Captain Kelly is currently under investigation for serious allegations of misconduct. Further official comments will be limited to preserve the integrity of the proceedings.
Chad Pergram of Fox News received Kelly’s response:
Dem AZ Sen Kelly: It should send a shiver down the spine of every patriotic American that the president and secretary of defense would abuse their power to come after me or anyone this way.
It wasn’t enough for Donald Trump to say I should be hanged. It wasn’t enough for Pete Hegseth to threaten me with a court martial. Now they are threatening everything I fought and served for across twenty-five years in the U.S. Navy—all because I repeated something every service member is taught.
The United States has the most professional military in the world—I trust their integrity. What I don’t trust is Pete Hegseth, a recklessly unqualified secretary of defense who has already shown he will corrupt any process to make an example out of me and send a message to every veteran and every American that they shouldn’t speak out.
If Trump and Hegseth think this will stop me from doing what I’ve done every day of my adult life—fighting for this country—then they’ve got the wrong guy. Tomorrow, and the next day, I will keep doing my job representing Arizona.
Dem AZ Sen Kelly: It should send a shiver down the spine of every patriotic American that the president and secretary of defense would abuse their power to come after me or anyone this way.
It wasn’t enough for Donald Trump to say I should be hanged. It wasn’t enough for Pete…— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) December 16, 2025
The others in the video:
- Rep. Jason Crow (CO)
- Rep. Chris Deluzio (PA)
- Rep. Maggie Goodlaner (NH)
- Rep. Chriss Houlahan (PA)
- Sen. Elissa Slotkin (MI)
Only Kelly falls under the Pentagon’s jurisdiction. Hegseth explained that four of the six are “retired,” which means “they are no longer subject to” the Uniform Code if Military Justice (UCMJ).
“However, Mark Kelly (retired Navy Commander) is still subject to UCMJ—and he knows that,” said Hegseth.
The Democrats insisted that a person “can refuse orders” and “must refuse illegal orders.”
That is false, as the Pentagon’s X post says. Military Defense sums it up:
Important Note: All military orders are presumed lawful. The burden falls on the service member to establish that an order is manifestly unlawful. This is a high standard, and hesitation or refusal can carry serious consequences—even if ultimately justified.
Because of this legal complexity, service members should consult with legal counsel as soon as they suspect an order may be unlawful. Do not disobey an order without first seeking guidance from a qualified military attorney, unless the order is clearly illegal on its face (e.g., ordering you to shoot unarmed civilians).
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Comments
Hopefully Mr Gabby Giffords will enjoy the FAFO principle in full. As a retired Officer he is subject to UCMJ so can’t run around like the rest and spout nonsense. His blind leftward tilt might, we hope, bear some consequences
Remember that it was the Democrats who declared all-out political war. Remember everything they did to try to prevent Trump’s election – including sending armed Federal Agents to snoop through his wife’s underwear drawer.
Kelly needs to remember something a policeman friend told me one time… “maybe you won’t get convicted, but we can sure take downtown and put you in a cell for a while to think about what you did.”
Exactly. You might beat the charge in court but you can’t beat the ride to jail and if you aren’t compliant while getting arrested you won’t beat the taser/pepper spray used to gain your compliance either.
Kelly’s arrogance has earned him a place he would wisely prefer not to be. He picked a fight with the wrong people and now is trying to backstep. Out over your skis, there, Captain?
.
He should be nailed with the maximum penalty to:
1) Provide a clear example of what you can and can’t do.
2) Show no one is above the law
3) Retribution plain and simple for him running his mouth.
He should lose rank and all associated with it. No jail necessary. He will still be a senator.
They should have done this to that asshat Vindman. I have no clue why they didn’t. He was a military officer playing politics and that can be allowed.
Double Dem Demagogue bonus points: that’s not only spin, but it’s also a lie.
Kelly and his co-conspirators were not simply stating what military law provides, as some sort of a forward-looking statement, as Kelly and others now try to frame it.
Quite to the contrary, without the goods — since they cannot identify a single illegal order — they were advancing the notion that illegal orders had already been issued by the Trump administration. Cue the transcript:
All because he repeated something every service member is taught? (As if a PSA were needed?) Not at all. Words matter. So does context. Kelly should be hung out to dry with his own words.
The retired Captain is being quite loose with what “every service member is taught.” As stated above, every order is presumed to be lawful.
But we also learned that one’s career would likely be over if there ever was a question about the legality of an order, because the issue would be extremely controversial. The military member likely would face disciplinary action if he was wrong and heavy criticism even if he was right, Heavy criticism would likely result in his being passed over for the best jobs (e.g. command), which would hinder future chances for promotion.
Hence, Kelly”s demand to question the legality of orders is on the threshold between legality and illegality. Even if it ultimately proves to be legal, his behavior is at least unethical.
The nuances of the military code of conduct are very interesting and important. However, even if one were to assume that the rules are as simple as Kelly suggests, his behavior is abhorrent and, I would think,, contrary to a Navy officer’s legal obligations. Just ask this question, why did he say something “that every service member is taught” (his words)? Was it because he thought service members didn’t know their obligation to not follow illegal orders? No: he admits that they know it. There is only one reason I can imagine: in order to increase the likelihood that soldiers and sailors will disobey their superiors. That must warrant a court martial, don’t you think?
Where was Kelly’s outrage of the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago? Which the FBI thought was wrong.
Paraphrase by Paula: “It should send a shiver down the spine of every patriotic American that Biden and his DOJ would abuse their power by going after a former president of the United States, sending FBI agents to raid his home, and even going so far as to go through the first lady’s underwear.”
I’m betting it was the agent’s own idea to go through the panty drawer and not in any instructions. Perverts one at all not that there is anything wrong with that. She’s legal.
As a retired officer, Kelly knows better than to go tap-dancing on a land mine, but does it anyway.
Still, there’s a lot of “Let’s you and him fight” talk from these people.
Unfortunately nothing will happen
For all the talk and promises NO ONE has done to jail
NO ONE
He’s having such a big sad right now over President Trump:
Here’s hoping Hegseth can help take his mind off all that.
Screw it, just arrest him for having that chrome dome sized head.
It’s his ears which bother me. I know he’s a blood sucker being a democrat but the ears make me wonder if he is actually a vampire.
To be honest, where are they going to hide?
Physiognomically, the man is an ideal Human Cannonball.
Intellectually, he’s a hollow-point.