Mark Kelly's legal team hits back at Pentagon with stern threat [View all]
Source: Raw Story
December 15, 2025 8:00PM ET
An attorney representing Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) fired off a warning letter to the Department of Defense on Monday, saying the senator is prepared to take whatever legal action is necessary to stop what they regard as an illegal and politically motivated investigation into him.
Kelly has been singled out for investigation under military law, after he and five other Democratic lawmakers with a military background published a video reminding servicemembers they have a duty to refuse illegal orders — a video Trump proclaimed to be "seditious" and "punishable by death" in social media rants. The letter was first posted to X on Monday evening by Punchbowl News' Andrew Desiderio.
"Secretary Hegseth's contemporaneous statements, as well as official statements from the Department of Defense, made clear that you were to consider recalling Senator Kelly to active duty for the purpose of a court-martial, and challenging the rank at which he retired," wrote attorney Paul J. Fischman in a letter addressed to Secretary of the Navy John Phelan. "We now understand from public reporting that you have completed your assignment and that you have submitted your brief to the Department of Defense's Office of General Counsel for 'legal review and input.'"
"To be clear: there is no legitimate basis for any type of proceeding against Senator Kelly, and any such effort would be unconstitutional and an extraordinary abuse of power," said the letter.
Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/mark-kelly-2674402142/
Link to tweet
@AndrewDesiderio
News — Here is Sen. Kelly’s attorney responding to DoD.
“If the Executive Branch were to move forward in any forum—criminal, disciplinary, or administrative—we will take all appropriate legal action on Senator Kelly’s behalf to halt the Administration’s unprecedented and dangerous overreach.”
Briana Reilly
@briana_reilly
New: DOD says it is “escalating” its review into Sen Mark Kelly “to an official command investigation.”
Full statement from a Pentagon official:
“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.”
= new reply since forum marked as read