Posted on 12/11/2025 5:22:22 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
The U.S. Navy has submitted its report on the potential punishments for Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) over a recent video where he and other Democratic lawmakers told U.S. service members to disobey “illegal orders.”
The report, which was ordered by the Defense Department and referred to the Navy, was sent to the Pentagon’s Office of General Counsel, “where they are providing a legal review and input,” a department official told The Hill on Thursday.
“It defies belief that with all of the threats facing our country, Pete Hegseth initiated this ridiculous process to try to intimidate Senator Kelly for saying something Pete Hegseth himself has said repeatedly,” Kelly’s spokesperson told The Hill in a statement on Thursday.
Kelly was never contacted or notified about the report and “it sure as hell won’t stop him from doing his job representing Arizona, whether that is voting today to lower health care costs or making sure our service members have what they need to do a very difficult job,” the spokesperson said, adding that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Trump “could do themselves a big favor and learn about our country’s history, the Constitution and the rule of law.”
The Arizona senator retired from the Navy with the rank of captain and has deployed twice to the Persian Gulf. He has also worked as an instructor at the Naval Pilot School.
The Pentagon said in late November it had received “serious allegations of misconduct” against Kelly and had kick-started a “thorough review” of the allegations.
The investigation came days after Kelly and five other Democrats, all of whom have either military or intelligence backgrounds, reminded U.S. service members in a joint video to disobey any illegal orders issued by the Trump administration. The lawmakers did not...
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
This is just a dumb prosecution. It’s a sure loser and will be propaganda for the Dems.
The Seditious Six's handlers would have made sure that everything the said walked the legal line but didn't walk over it.
Or executed at Nuremburg. Every officer is taught moral courage. Lay your rank on the table. Resign. Accept demotion. Do not burn the village at Mei Lai. Do not kill the jewish citizens. Do not sharpen your sword on Chinese prisoners necks. I served a brief 28 years, you?
I don’t know about “The Hill” (the publication) - but I know The Hill (the House and the Senate) is committed to do nothing until 2029 as they pray to whatever god they follow for an end to Trump, Trumpists, and MAGA.
I read a Substack post that said 80% of the House and the Senate would vote to impeach and remove Trump if they were allowed a secret ballot, and I believe it.
It’s amazing he can get anything done.
Actually... I do recall my father relating to me that he once refused an order for which I do not believe he suffered any serious consequences... He was a sergeant in 1964/65 serving in Cyprus with the Canadian military when the new Canadian flag was adopted in February of 1965... He was ordered to have the new flag raised at the base in Nicosia and somehow failed to pass on that order. He was never a fan of the new Canadian flag having served and lost fellow soldiers fighting under it's predecessor the Red Ensign.
Great explanation of the current Hegseth op in the Color Revolution against Trump, us, and the USA. Lays it all out to help all see this was *not* a simple case of “oh, we were just reminding everyone.”
https://x.com/TimOnPoint/status/1994570386239852571?s=20
“Timeline of a deep state hit:
A) a JSOC kill strike is ordered on an authorized target. Not a capture strike, a kill strike - President Obama was quite fond of them btw - 500+ to his name, including Americans.
B) the story is leaked. A leak from JSOC? Probably not - the leak is probably closer to the SECWAR’s office in the Pentagon. The Washington Post begins writing the story.
C) a Soros-funded NGO puts billboards up encouraging military personnel to report unlawful orders… although there are no unlawful orders identified.
D) out of nowhere, the Seditious Six - which includes one presidential hopeful and one former IC member who had direct involvement in the original attempt to destroy Trump - delivers to social media a “don’t give up the ship” video - a public service announcement to all personnel to refuse unlawful orders.
*** the video was funded and produced a Soros funded NGO.
E) Senator Slotkin, the former CIA ghoul, goes on the news and is very careful to state that she can’t identify any unlawful orders that have been given.
F) boom, the WaPo delivers the story claiming unlawful orders.
G) Friday evening, everyone on the left hits social media - with paid amplification - about the unlawful orders.
H) the Sunday shows will be filled with calls for war crimes charges, impeachments, and resignations.
All a coincidence, right? None of it was coordinated, right?
Not all civil wars happen on the battlefield.”
Kelly is one of those threats to the US.
There are illegal orders - but I have seen very few after 39 years in Military/Civil Service.
And haven’t detected any from President Trump.
The problem with disobeying one is that you still get punished for disobeying an order from a “superior” (because that is the person who brings the charges and also claims they never ordered what they ordered, so if there’s no willing witnesses or written proof, you’re screwed)- until it is proven the order was illegal - and it sticks with one through their career.
Correct. And prosecuting a sitting U.S Senator who technically (and that matters legally) did nothing more than make an accurate statement of the law is going to be a very bad look to some folks. Just a stupid hill on which to die.
Would have been better to counter it with a very pointed video statement from the SecWar and service Secretaries.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.