UPDATE - Pentagon probes senator over video urging US troops to reject 'illegal' orders

ADDS WHITE HOUSE STATEMENT

By Rabia Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - The Pentagon said Monday that it was reviewing “serious allegations of misconduct” against Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona over a video in which he and five other Democratic lawmakers urged US troops to refuse "illegal" orders.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the probe on the US social media company X’s platform, calling the video by whom he labeled the “Seditious Six” “despicable, reckless, and false.”

Kelly, a retired US Navy captain, “is still subject to UCMJ — and he knows that,” Hegseth said, referring to the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

The Pentagon said a "thorough review" has begun, which could result in Kelly being recalled to active duty for potential court-martial or administrative action.

“This matter will be handled in compliance with military law, ensuring due process and impartiality,” it said.

Kelly posted the video on Nov. 18, saying, “Our laws are clear: you can refuse illegal orders.”

The other lawmakers in the video were Senator Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA officer, and Representatives Jason Crow, an Army veteran, Maggie Goodlander, a former Navy Reserve intelligence officer, Chris Deluzio, a Navy veteran, and Chrissy Houlahan, an Air Force veteran.

President Donald Trump last week accused the group of being “traitors,” saying their comments amounted to “seditious behavior.”

Kelly said during an interview with CBS News on Sunday that the president’s rhetoric “could have serious, serious consequences,” noting that threats against lawmakers had increased.

Shortly after the Pentagon’s announcement, Kelly took to X to push back on the decision.

Recounting decades of military and public service, he said he had “given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies.”

“If this is meant to intimidate me and other members of Congress from doing our jobs and holding this administration accountable, it won’t work,” he wrote.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that the lawmakers’ remarks in the video were “irresponsible,” accusing them of giving “a wink and a nod” to troops to defy orders — which she stressed “is illegal.”

She said no order from the administration “has ever been illegal, nor will it ever be.”

"This administration respects and abides by the law, and these officials know it," she added.