The federal government has escalated the investigation into U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., over his “misconduct” in making a video urging service members to disobey “illegal” orders, without identifying a single “illegal” order.
A War Department official revealed, “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.”
Meanwhile, Kelly, through his lawyer, is threatening the federal government for investigating him.
At issue are the comments he and other members of Congress made in a video, instructing members of the U.S. military to disobey “illegal” orders. However, they have since been unable to identify a single “illegal” order, and the scheme has been seen as a political maneuver for the Democrats to criticize President Donald Trump and create talking points for their party. And there are laws barring statements and actions to undermine the military command structure.
A report in the Washington Examiner said the Pentagon’s escalation took the investigation from a “preliminary review.”
Kelly joined Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., and House members Jason Crow of Colorado, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, all diehard Trump opponents, in the video.
They now have been labeled the “Seditious Six” by the Trump administration for their comments and Trump suggested their comments, obviously intended to influence the ranks and cast doubt on the commander-in-chief, amounted to treason.
BREAKING NEWS: The Department of War investigation of Senator Mark Kelly is “escalating” to a “full command” investigation per a DOW official.
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) December 15, 2025
Pentagon escalates review into Sen. Mark Kelly over “illegal orders” video https://t.co/p3Kk15Uk8d
— The Hill (@thehill) December 16, 2025
Tonight, we learned the Pentagon is escalating its review of me into “an official command investigation.”
If Donald Trump or Pete Hegseth think they can stop me from doing my job and serving the American people, they’ve got the wrong guy. pic.twitter.com/wjKVr37vby
— Senator Mark Kelly (@SenMarkKelly) December 16, 2025
Reports explain the video has been viewed “as a wink-and-nod call for insubordination.”
While Kelly is subject to recall by the military, so the Pentagon is investigating him, the FBI is looking into the comments made by the others.
Kelly responded with bluster: “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,” he claimed.
Kelly had his lawyer threaten the federal government: “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. 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.”
WorldNetDaily reported when Slotkin, long after the controversy erupted, suddenly claimed that members of America’s military were demanding answers about what to do when confronted with “illegal orders.”
The six told military members not to follow “illegal” orders.
Slotkin’s newest claims:
Elissa Slotkin claims Democrats made the ‘illegal orders’ video because a slew of military personnel were coming to them with concerns for months:
“I don’t know if this is legal. I don’t know if I’d be held accountable later after this administration. I can’t get a straight… pic.twitter.com/Fe2AMPvMRg
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) December 8, 2025
The despicable video urging @DeptofWar troops to “refuse illegal orders” may seem harmless to civilians — but it carries a different weight inside the military.
This was a politically-motivated influence operation:
It never named a specific “illegal order.”
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) November 25, 2025
OFFICIAL STATEMENT:
The Department of War has received serious allegations of misconduct against Captain Mark Kelly, USN (Ret.). In accordance with the Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. § 688, and other applicable regulations, a thorough review of these allegations…
— Department of War (@DeptofWar) November 24, 2025
* * *
Content created by the WND News Center is available for re-publication without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].
This article was originally published by the WND News Center.
