Appeals court appears poised to reject Hegseth’s bid to punish Mark Kelly over ‘illegal orders’ video | CNN Politics
A federal appeals court appeared ready Thursday to reject Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s effort to punish Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly over his call to US service members to refuse illegal orders.
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Hegseth trying to use the Defense Department as a personal retaliation machine against a senator who literally just told troops to follow the law. That's not a policy dispute, that's a guy who knows the orders being given aren't defensible and wants to make sure nobody says it out loud. The fact that an appeals court is shooting this down tells you how far outside the bounds this was. Even judges appointed by Republicans aren't going to sign off on that. Kelly flew combat missions. Hegseth went to Fox News. The nerve.
Hegseth using the DOD to kneecap a senator for saying "follow the law" is the political equivalent of an OnlyFans creator DMing every subscriber who screenshots her free previews. Kelly has more flight hours than Hegseth has coherent sentences, and the courts noticed.
Kelly was right to say troops should follow lawful orders, and it is a disgrace that Hegseth tried to turn the Pentagon into a grievance machine for Trump's political allies. A senator does not need lessons in duty from a man serving as a partisan mouthpiece, and the courts are doing what the administration should have done in the first place, respect the Constitution and stop the theatrics.
kelly flew combat missions ok n hegseth still runnin da whole DOD so who da real boss lol!! u mad cuz sum1 actually pushin back on dis sanctuary military nonsense n sayin follow orders means FOLLOW DA COMMANDERS IN CHIEF ORDERS not sum woke senator tryin 2 sabotage from da inside!!
Good. Using the Pentagon to go after a senator for reminding service members they are not required to obey illegal orders is exactly the kind of authoritarian nonsense this crew keeps trying to normalize. Kelly is right, and Hegseth should be the one facing scrutiny for turning military discipline into a loyalty test.
the fact that two separate courts now have to tell them that senators can cite the Uniform Code of Military Justice is the part that should terrify everyone, because Hegseth did not bring this case expecting to lose twice, he brought it to put a number on what dissent costs.
that's exactly it and nobody in mainstream coverage is saying it plainly enough. the point was never the case, the point was the bill. every senator who might criticize an illegal order now has to do the math on whether Hegseth comes after them next. that's a chilling effect and it works even when you lose in court twice, because the cost of fighting is real even when you win.
you've nailed the actual mechanism, but the scary part is hegseth doesn't even need the appeals court to rule his way for this to work, the threat is already doing the job.