When six Democrats urged members of the military to refuse orders that violate the law or constitution, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth swiftly branded them as “seditious” and even launched an investigation against Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, a retired Navy captain, for potentially breaching military code. But now, a recently unearthed video of remarks by Hegseth in 2016 has highlighted for Democrats his apparent hypocrisy.
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“I do think there have to be consequences for abject war crimes,” Hegseth, who is currently battling allegations of war crimes himself, said at a conservative forum nine years ago, when Barack Obama was still President. “If you’re doing something that is just completely unlawful and ruthless, then there is a consequence for that. That’s why the military said it won’t follow unlawful orders from their commander-in-chief.”
Hegseth added: “There’s a standard, there’s an ethos, there’s a belief that we are above what so many things that our enemies or others would do.”
Hegseth, a military veteran, was a Fox News contributor who had resigned from the veterans advocacy group Concerned Veterans of America earlier that year when he made the remarks.
Kelly, speaking to CNN on Tuesday, agreed with Hegseth’s 2016 remarks. “It’s exactly what we said,” Kelly emphasized. “But when we said it, Pete Hegseth … says what we said was false and reckless. And I think it begs the question, ‘What has changed?’ And it’s pretty obvious what has changed is we have an unqualified Secretary of Defense who only cares about sucking up to this President.”
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D, Mich.), another among what Hegseth nicknamed the “Seditious Six,” reposted a clip of Hegseth’s remarks on X, comparing it to the Democrats’ statement. “Watch for yourself,” Slotkin said, quoting both Hegseth in 2016 and herself in 2025.
Rep. Jason Crow (D, Colo.), another of the group of Democrats, reposted a clip of the Defense Secretary’s remarks on X, asking in his caption the same question as Kelly did: “What changed, Pete? Our Secretary of Defense is an unqualified and unserious person.”
“Take it from Pete Hegseth: no one can force American servicemembers to follow unlawful orders,” Rep. Chris Deluzio, posted on X, while fellow Pennsylvania Democrat Rep. Chrissy Houlahan posted: “Thanks for the clarity, Secretary Hegseth.” Both were also among the “Seditious Six.”
In a statement to CNN, Pentagon spokesperson Kingsley Wilson appeared to justify Hegseth’s 2016 remarks while differentiating them from the Democrats’ video. “As Secretary Hegseth said last week and prior to holding office, the military already has clear procedures for handling unlawful orders,” Wilson said. “The orders being given to our military under President Trump are lawful, and the despicable video of the ‘Seditious Six’ urging our troops to defy their chain-of-command was a politically motivated influence operation by elected officials aimed at sowing distrust and chaos in our Armed Forces.”
Anna Kelly, a White House deputy press secretary, also told CNN that Hegseth’s comments were consistent, and she too doubled down on the Democrats’ supposed wrongdoing: “These lawmakers sowed doubt in a clear chain of command, which is reckless, dangerous, and deeply irresponsible for an elected official.”
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