Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) slammed President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Tuesday afternoon, saying they are trying to “intimidate” him by having the FBI interview him and five other Democratic lawmakers who have urged military members to “reject illegal orders.”
Punchbowl News a journalist Andrew Desire reported that Kelly’s office had been contacted by the FBI, shortly after Fox News reported that the feds would be investigating members of congress.
“Sen. Kelly will not be silenced by President Trump and Secretary Hegseth’s attempt to intimidate him and prevent him from doing his job as a United States Senator,” said a spokesperson for Kelly. Punchbowl.
Fox News Correspondent David Spunt, during appearance on America reports on Tuesday afternoon, reported FBI and Justice Department officials are coordinating the interviews, which are expected to take place in “short order” after Thanksgiving.
Spunt also told the co-host Sandra Smith that Sen. Kelly faces potential military punishment, which was first reported on Monday.
The investigation takes place after Kelly and other Democrats, in a video uploaded by Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) on X last week, told service members that “threats to the Constitution don’t just come from abroad, but right here at home.”
“You can reject illegal orders. You have to reject illegal orders,” the lawmakers said, as they read the lines in the video.
The other Democrats in the video were Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA), Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-NH), Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA). Those lawmakers served in the Navy, Army, Air Force, and Central Intelligence Agency.
President Trump was livid over the video, saying it was “SEDIOUS SEDITION” that is “punishable by DEATH.” He also said, in a Truth Social post late at night on November 22, that members of congress “SHOULD BE IN JAIL NOW.”
Other members of his Administration agreed. Hegseth branded the Dems the “Seditious Six,” and the White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt he said the “deranged” lawmakers were dead wrong.
“You can’t have a soldier on the battlefield or running a classified order and wondering if that order is legal or if they should follow it,” Leavitt told Fox News on Monday. “There has to be a chain of command in our military.”
She added, “They cannot identify illegal orders because there are no illegal orders.”
Senator Slotkin, during an appearance on ABC the day before, admitted that she was “unaware” of any illegal orders made by Trump.
In the same way, Sen. Kelly, speaking to MS NOW’s Rachel Maddow on Monday, he could not point to a specific example, but said it should be “common sense” what an illegal order is.
Watch Spunt’s report above, via Fox News.
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