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Posted on 05/11/2026 6:47:09 AM PDT by DFG
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday accused Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) of divulging classified information during an interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
“‘Captain’ Mark Kelly strikes again,” Hegseth wrote in response to a post by “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan on the social platform X detailing what Kelly told her about U.S. stockpiles, which Kelly said the U.S. war with Iran has reduced.
“Now he’s blabbing on TV (falsely & dumbly) about a *CLASSIFIED* Pentagon briefing he received. Did he violate his oath…again?” Hegseth wrote.
The Defense secretary added that the Pentagon’s legal counsel “will review” the Democratic lawmaker’s remarks.
Kelly, a retired Navy captain, during his CBS interview said that the Pentagon briefed him and his Senate colleagues on how the U.S. war with Iran has impacted the country’s weapons stockpiles.
“It’s been pretty detailed on Tomahawks, ATACMS, SM-3, THAAD rounds, Patriot rounds, those interceptor rounds to defend ourselves,” he said of the briefing. “And the numbers are, I think it’s fair to say it’s shocking how deep we have gone into these magazines, because this president got our country into this without a strategic goal, without a plan, without a timeline, and because of that, we’ve expended a lot of munitions.”
As for how long it will take to replenish those reserves, Kelly said, “We’re talking about years.”
Kelly and the Pentagon are already embroiled in a legal fight that saw the Arizona senator sue the department in January over Hegseth reducing the retired captain’s rank. Hegseth also sent Kelly a formal letter of censure. That was in response to Kelly and five other Democratic lawmakers, all with either military or intelligence backgrounds, releasing a video in November that urged U.S. service members and intelligence officials to refuse illegal orders.
A federal judge in February blocked the Pentagon’s actions against Kelly, asserting that retired service members had First Amendment protections.
On Thursday, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit appeared skeptical of the government’s argument in the case.
Later in the evening on Sunday, Kelly replied to Hegseth’s post on X by sharing a video of Hegseth testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 30 regarding the Pentagon’s fiscal 2027 budget.
During that hearing, Kelly asked Hegseth how many years it will take for the U.S. military to replenish its stockpiles.
“I think that’s exactly the right question, too, senator,” the Pentagon chief replied. “Because the time frame we were existing under was unacceptable. And what this budget does, I mean, months and years. I mean, we’re building new plants in real time.”
Hegseth added that the specific time frame for replenishment “depends on the weapon system.” He also criticized the Biden administration for sending weapons to Ukraine.
“We had this conversation in a public hearing a week ago and you said it would take ‘years’ to replenish some of these stockpiles,” Kelly wrote of Hegseth’s remarks. “That’s not classified, it’s a quote from you. This war is coming at a serious cost and you and the president still haven’t explained to the American people what the goal is.”
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Me thinks he wants a piece of the action. Why only Marco and JD? Know what I mean?
Mark Kelly needs to be arrested for aiding and abetting the enemy and treason.
“because of that, we’ve expended a lot of munitions.””
If munitions can’t be used to keep a terrorist country from developing nukes and killing us then what good are they?
If munitions can’t be used to keep a terrorist country from developing nukes and killing us then what good are they?
____________________________________________________
Yeah, that “terrorist country” has been killing Americans by the boatloads for countless decades. /s
I can’t stand this smarmy pos. He knows full well that what he wrote on x is not what is classified, it’s the specifics of which system not that it would take years bs.
I didn’t understand the sarcasm tag-were you implying with it that Iran has not killed any Americans in the past 47 years?
I just want to understand what you meant.
That lowlife, Kelly, should be in prison. A worthless POC. He can take the other worthless POC Gallego with him as a cellmate. Come on Arizona. You can do better than these two knuckledraggers.
So pull his clearance. Surely there’s a process for that.
I hope Kelly is charged with revealing classified info.
Glad to know I wasn’t the only one yelling “Traitorous piece of sh!t!” when he told Brennan that America lacked the munitions to sustain even a short war.
His clearance can be pulled but so can the individual who would brief him in the future after being warned of his leaks.
Also, any agency that continues to share information with him after being warned can lose their certification to create, store, and distribute classified information.
It happens often enough with operations that fail inspections for storage and handling of classified materials. The organization then has to reapply for certifications, and almost without fail, one of the requirements is that the previous offenders no longer have access.
This is why the character of who you vote for is important!
U.S. Senators do not require a formal security clearance; their access to classified information is granted automatically by virtue of their elected office.
Access to Classified Information
Senators, like all members of Congress, are considered constitutional officers, and this status inherently grants them access to classified information necessary for their legislative and oversight duties without undergoing the standard security clearance process
Why can’t people understand this?
Even if Kelly is court martialed it doesn’t remove him from office.
A U.S. Senator is not automatically removed from office just because they are convicted of a crime. The Constitution and Senate rules set out specific procedures for removal, and most criminal convictions do not trigger it.
Very difficult to remove a Senator if he won’t go!
The Senate can punish its own members for misconduct under Article I, Section 5, Clause 2. It can:
Censure (public reprimand) by a simple majority.
Expel a member by a two‑thirds vote, creating a vacancy.
Expulsion is extremely rare and usually reserved for serious, recent misconduct, such as joining the Confederacy.
Past cases show that misconduct occurring before a Senator’s election is less likely to lead to expulsion.
Criminal Convictions and Service
A Senator can serve in office after a criminal conviction unless the crime is treason, in which case impeachment could be used. (Note: Leaking classified information is not automatically treason. It could be but its not automatic. It is a violation of the Espionage At which is a serious felony.
Convictions in state or federal courts do not automatically end a Senate term unless the Senate chooses to expel the member.
In rare cases, Senators have resigned after convictions, but this is not required by law.
This information is is easy to find, took me less then 5 minutes!
I thought Kelly was responsible to provide resources for anticipated events. Rumsfeld said before you go to war with what you have not what you want. So Kelly why don’t we have the resources??
Yeah….what a weird comment
I was just curious-it is easy to misunderstand someone in a forum like this.
Probably another Iran fag.
If Jane Fonda and Dr. Evil had a son...
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