Mark Kelly Says He Only Learned About Pete Hegseth’s Push to Court-Martial Him From X

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) said he found out he could be facing a court-martial in a “ridiculous” way — via an X post from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

Kelly blasted Hegseth for his approach, as well as his leadership of America’s troops, during an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Monday evening.

Tapper asked the senator if the FBI had reached out to him for an interview, or if the military had contacted him, after Kelly and five other Democrats shared a video where they urged troops to “refuse illegal orders.” President Donald Trump has been livid over the video, saying it was “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR” and should be “punishable by DEATH.” 

“The court-martial, Hegseth notified me in a tweet. I mean, how ridiculous is this? That this guy, I mean, it’s not a normal process, [it] doesn’t make any sense. He tweeted something, that’s how I got notified. That’s all I’ve heard from the Navy,” Kelly said. “And that says everything about Pete Hegseth.”

He was referring to an X post from the Department of War on November 24, which said it was conducting a “thorough review” to see if a court-martial was warranted.

Kelly, in a video posted by Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) last month, told service members that “threats to the Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but right here at home.”

The other Democrats in the video were Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA), Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-NH), Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA). Those lawmakers served in the Navy, Army, Air Force, and Central Intelligence Agency.

“You can refuse illegal orders. You must refuse illegal orders,” the lawmakers said, as they took turns reading lines in the video.

Kelly, during his appearance on CNN, reiterated his recent claim that Trump has been looking to “intimidate” him by threatening military punishment. Trump, on November 22, said Kelly and the other Democratic lawmakers  “SHOULD BE IN JAIL RIGHT NOW.”

The Arizona senator and the other Democrats have not been able to point to a specific example where Trump issued illegal orders. Sen. Slotkin, during an appearance on ABC on November 23, admitted she was “not aware” of any illegal orders from Trump.

He also ripped Hegseth for a recent Washington Post report that the military conducted a second strike on suspected “narco-terrorists” who had fallen into the water, following an initial strike on a vessel in early September. Critics have called it a potential war crime, while Hegseth and Trump have denied that an illegal strike happened.

Kelly told Tapper the reported “double tap” was the “result of incompetence at the highest level.”

Watch part of his appearance on The Lead above.