The Navy has sent Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s office a report evaluating the role of Senator Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona and a retired Navy captain, in participating in a video last month telling members of the military that they must refuse unlawful orders.
Whether the Pentagon’s investigation of Mr. Kelly, part of a series of moves by the Trump administration to seek retribution against President Trump’s perceived political enemies, will continue is unknown.
Any decision on pursuing potential disciplinary action against Mr. Kelly would be up to the secretary of the Navy, John Phelan, and not Mr. Hegseth. Mr. Phelan’s conclusion, if any has been made, remains unclear.
The Defense Department’s Office of General Counsel is “providing a legal review and input” of Mr. Phelan’s report, a Pentagon official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation. The Pentagon did not answer a query Thursday evening on whether Mr. Phelan’s report uncovered any evidence of wrongdoing that could result in criminal or administrative proceedings against Mr. Kelly.
At issue is a provision of federal law that allows for retired officers to be brought back onto active duty to face disciplinary action in military courts for gross misconduct or criminal actions, though in practice such proceedings are rare.
After an officer retires from active duty, a finding of misconduct that took place while the officer was in uniform could result in disciplinary actions short of courts-martial, such as demotion to a lower rank.
Neither the Navy nor the Pentagon has suggested that Mr. Kelly committed misconduct of any kind during his career of more than two decades as a Navy pilot, which included flying combat missions and serving as an astronaut assigned to NASA.
Senator Kelly and five other Democratic lawmakers — all of whom served in the military or in the intelligence community — posted their video on Nov. 18 reminding military service members’ obligation to refuse illegal orders.
In response, President Trump accused the six lawmakers of sedition and threatened them with the death penalty.
Mr. Trump’s assertion, however, was undercut by Attorney General Pam Bondi, who said in a briefing to the Supreme Court last year that “military officers are required not to carry out unlawful orders.”
On Nov. 24, Mr. Hegseth directed Mr. Phelan to investigate Mr. Kelly for what the Pentagon chief called “despicable, reckless, and false” words in the 90-second video, giving the Navy secretary until Dec. 10 to conclude his review.
On Tuesday, all Democratic members of the Senate Armed Services Committee — excluding Mr. Kelly — sent a letter to Mr. Phelan calling Mr. Hegseth’s desired investigation “inappropriate” and said that it threatened the separation of powers in a way that amounted to “a purely political exercise seeking to threaten legitimate and lawful actions by a duly elected senator.”
The lawmakers’ video, and Mr. Hegseth’s order to investigate Mr. Kelly, both came before The Washington Post reported on Nov. 28 that Mr. Hegseth had ordered the deaths of all people targeted in the military’s first known airstrike on a vessel in the Caribbean Sea, on Sept. 2.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers later said publicly that such orders may amount to a war crime.
The U.S. military has acknowledged 22 such airstrikes on boats it has accused of carrying illegal narcotics, killing at least 87 people.
Mr. Hegseth declined to commit to showing the full video of the Sept. 2 strike to all members of Congress, telling lawmakers in a closed-door session this week that the issue needed further review.
Members of Congress who watched the video said it showed a second wave of airstrikes in the Sept. 2 attack that killed two men who had survived an earlier explosion from an bomb dropped by an American aircraft.
A defense bill passed by the House on Wednesday night demanded the Pentagon release unedited videos of attacks on suspected drug boats.
Greg Jaffe contributed reporting.
John Ismay is a reporter covering the Pentagon for The Times. He served as an explosive ordnance disposal officer in the U.S. Navy.
The post Navy Submits Investigation on Senator to Hegseth’s Office appeared first on New York Times.
