Remember how Democrats used to say over and over, “No one is above the law,” while trying to put President Trump in prison? Well, Democrats sure talk tough about accountability when they’re targeting Trump, but they clearly think there’s an exception to the rule when the person who broke the law is a Democrat.
On Monday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced that the Department of War has initiated formal disciplinary action against Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) for “public statements from June through December 2025 in which he characterized lawful military operations as illegal and counseled members of the Armed Forces to refuse lawful orders.”
According to Hegseth, “This conduct was seditious in nature and violated Articles 133 and 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, to which Captain Kelly remains subject as a retired officer receiving pay.”
Sen. Mark Kelly responded in a post on X, ironically casting himself as the target of political retribution.
"Over twenty-five years in the U.S. Navy, thirty-nine combat missions, and four missions to space, I risked my life for this country and to defend our Constitution – including the First Amendment rights of every American to speak out,” Kelly wrote. He insisted that his retirement rank and pay were earned through decades of sacrifice. He claimed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s disciplinary actions were meant to intimidate retired servicemembers who dare to criticize the government.
“Pete Hegseth wants to send the message to every single retired servicemember that if they say something he or Donald Trump doesn’t like, they will come after them the same way. It’s outrageous and it is wrong. There is nothing more un-American than that,” Kelly claimed. “If Pete Hegseth, the most unqualified Secretary of Defense in our country’s history, thinks he can intimidate me with a censure or threats to demote me or prosecute me, he still doesn’t get it. I will fight this with everything I’ve got — not for myself, but to send a message back that Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump don’t get to decide what Americans in this country get to say about their government.”
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What Kelly conveniently failed to mention is that no amount of combat missions, astronaut badges, or political offices exempts a retired officer from accountability under the law. Kelly, along with five other Democratic lawmakers, urged military members to refuse what they characterized as “illegal orders,” without explaining what those illegal orders were.
In interviews with the media following the video’s release, those involved pointed to his use of the National Guard to enforce immigration law—a move that, contrary to their claims, falls well within presidential authority and has historical precedent. In fact, despite implying that Trump has made illegal orders, none have been able to point to any that he has actually given, making it clear this was just a partisan attack with no merit.
Secretary Hegseth described the video as “seditious conduct that undermined good order and military discipline.” The Department of War has initiated retirement-grade determination proceedings under 10 U.S.C. § 1370(f), which could strip Kelly of his retired rank and reduce his retired pay. A formal Letter of Censure has already been issued and will be placed in his permanent military record.
“Captain Kelly’s status as a sitting United States Senator does not exempt him from accountability,” Hegseth warned.
The dispute is not about politics or partisanship; it is about the principle that no one is above the law, which Democrats repeatedly professed about Donald Trump. Well, Mark Kelly is learning the hard way that it includes him, too.
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