‘A Bunch of Bullsh*t!’ Mark Kelly Rips Hegseth’s Investigation Into Him For Something SecDef Also Said in 2016

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), a retired Navy captain and former astronaut, hit back at Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday after the Pentagon elevated the investigation into him over a video clip he released last month, urging soldiers not to follow illegal orders.

Kelly took questions on Capitol Hill on Tuesday and was asked, “Has DoD reached out to you at all as a part of their investigation?”

“The last thing I heard from DoD regarding me personally was in 2011, when I retired from the United States Navy and was given a Legion of Merit for my service at this point. So again, yeah, this is all a bunch of bullshit, and the reason why, I think, is because this is just about sending a message to retired service members, active-duty service members, government employees: do not speak out against this president, or there will be consequences,” replied Kelly, adding:

So it’s a lot bigger than just dealing with me, and that’s why they don’t handle this professionally, like you would expect. At some point, DOD would notify me of an investigation, but they haven’t. And they haven’t because all they—I think what they really care about is the public message. They’re going after me, a U.S. Senator, for something I said that was lawful. It was the truth.

It was something people are trained on. It was something that Pete Hegseth said in 2016 multiple times, and in his case, specifically about this president and his concerns. They don’t want other people saying these kinds of things, so they’re trying to shut people up. In this case, they picked the wrong guy, so I’m not going to shut up about this. I’m going to continue to do my job. I’m going to stick up for our Constitution. I mean, I think Pete Hegseth is a, you know, guy who goes to work every day to try to figure out how does he please the president. That’s a recipe for some major problems.

In November, Hegseth raged at Kelly while announcing an investigation into him, which could potentially result in a court-martial, although most observers call the probe baseless. “The video made by the ‘Seditious Six’ was despicable, reckless, and false. Encouraging our warriors to ignore the orders of their Commanders undermines every aspect of ‘good order and discipline.’ Their foolish screed sows doubt and confusion — which only puts our warriors in danger,” posted Hegseth.

Notably, Kelly and his fellow Democrats in the clip he’s being investigated for did not tell soldiers to “ignore the orders of their Commanders,” but instead urged them to follow the military code of justice by ensuring those orders are lawful.

CNN later reported that Hegseth had made similar comments back in 2016. CNN’s K-File revealed Hegseth once said, “I do think there have to be consequences for abject war crimes. 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. 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.”

Watch the clip above.