U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly said his office received "something from the FBI" apparently relating to the investigation Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wants of Kelly and five other Democratic lawmakers, but that he expects Hegseth ultimately will "take a hike."
Kelly spoke to reporters after a town hall Friday in Tucson, after news broke that the Federal Bureau of Investigations is weighing a seditious conspiracy probe against the Tucson Democrat and five other Senate and House members for telling military members in a Nov. 18 video that they can and should refuse illegal orders.
Kelly said the communication his office received from the FBI regarding the video was "just one thing" that "didn't even have a point of contact" listed.
"That's how unprofessional this DOJ (Department of Justice) has become ... we haven't heard much officially," he said. "I have confidence in the independence of our system, and I'm going to comply with the law, with regards to the Uniform Code of Military Justice."
"(Hegseth) says he's going to prosecute me for something I said that is in the Uniform Code of Military Justice," Kelly said, referring to the law that says military personnel have a duty to disobey orders that are "manifestly" or "patently" illegal.
U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly speaks during a town hall at Second Sky, 4141 E. Irvington Road, on Friday.
But he said he expects Hegseth “is just going to take a hike. That’s what I ultimately expect him to do, or he can try to prosecute me. But I’m not going away.”
The Pentagon is weighing a possible court-martial of Kelly, who is a former Navy combat pilot, for "serious allegations of misconduct," after President Donald Trump, in social media posts, accused him of "seditious behavior" for participating in the video. Hegseth asked the Secretary of the Navy for “a brief on the outcome of your review” by no later than Dec. 10.
In addition, Bloomberg Law, citing unnamed sources familiar with the situation, reported Wednesday that FBI headquarters was pressuring its domestic terrorism agents "to open a seditious conspiracy investigation" into Kelly and the other five lawmakers.
The FBI has not responded to media questions about the report.
JoAnna Mendoza, who is running for Congress in Arizona's District 6, moderates a town hall with U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly at Second Sky, 4141 E. Irvington Road, on Friday.
Bloomberg reported that career employees in the FBI have resisted opening a sedition investigation because of a “lack of legal and factual basis.”
At the Tucson town hall, Kelly said of the potential investigation, “It’s certainly unconstitutional. It’s also in violation of the separation of powers of me as a United States senator. But also, they haven’t been serious enough about this to even notify me other than on Twitter. … They’re not serious people and I’m not backing down.”
Boat strikes probe
Kelly was also asked after Friday's town hall about the U.S.'s Sept. 2 strike and follow-up strike against a boat in international waters in the Caribbean Sea, which Trump has claimed was carrying drugs from Venezuela and operated by Tren de Aragua, which the U.S. has designated a terrorist organization.
The two lethal strikes were among at least 21 the U.S. is known to have carried out against suspected drug boats from Venezuela from September through mid-November, the AP has reported, but the follow-up strike on Sept. 2 has led congressional members to announce oversight investigations.
Navy Admiral Frank "Mitch" Bradley appeared for a series of closed-door classified briefings Thursday in Washington, D.C., about the follow-up strike, which killed two survivors of the initial Sept. 2 strike. The Pentagon’s manual on the laws of war describes a scenario similar to that boat strike when discussing when service members should refuse to comply with unlawful orders, the Associated Press has reported. “For example,” the manual says, “orders to fire upon the shipwrecked would be clearly illegal.”
Kelly said Friday he hasn't seen the video of the strike, which was shown Thursday to ranking members of the Armed Services Committee, but has talked to some who did "and they're very concerned." Kelly is on the committee but isn't a ranking member.
President Trump is defending a strike on a suspected drug boat while insisting he didn’t know about a second strike that killed survivors.
He said those on the committee who have seen the strike video think all committee members should have an opportunity to view it, ask questions, receive documentation "and be able to question witnesses, including the Secretary of Defense and Admiral Bradley."
"I think it's important to have a process and an investigation, and I don't want to pre-judge what the outcome of that investigation would be, but from what I know, it is rather concerning, and this is one of the things that I've been concerned about since this operation started," Kelly said.
"These are the things that you see in other countries. We cannot become Russia. (Trump) is trying to change the culture of the U.S. military. We've got the most professional, effective military in the world, and one of the reasons it is that way is because we have values, and we stick to those values, and we have morals, and we don't cross lines. (But) we have a secretary of defense who doesn't understand that. I mean, he really does not understand," Kelly continued.
"When this operation in Venezuela started, I was immediately talking about my concern for members of the military and how they're going to be possibly pushed to do something that they might might be over a line, and that's how we wind wound up here today," he said. "It is unfortunate, but we're going to have to see how this investigation goes. And I don't really want to pre-judge, because this is the career and the lives of (military members)."
Health care costs
The town hall Friday was primarily about health-care affordability and the potential for health-care premiums to skyrocket as subsidies could be going away for millions of Americans starting next year.
Democrats who agreed to reopen the government in November — putting an end to the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history — did so in exchange for a vote this month to potentially extend the COVID-era Affordable Care Act tax credits, which help millions of Americans pay for their health coverage.
This year, according to the Associated Press, 24 million people have signed up for insurance coverage through the ACA. If those tax credits expire, annual out-of-pocket premiums are estimated to increase by 114%, or a little over $1,000 on average, the AP reported.
The Senate is expected to vote, tentatively on Dec. 11, on a provision to extend those credits for three years.
Health care in the U.S. "has a lot of problems," Kelly told the crowd on Friday, but if those subsidies go away, "health care will become unaffordable" for many people in Arizona.
"It's going to affect millions and millions of people across the country, and that's just the beginning, because in 2026, (Republicans are) kicking all these people off Medicaid, you know, poor people who just can't afford health insurance," Kelly said. "We should be able, as the richest country in the world, to be able to help people who can't afford insurance get something ... Republicans are in charge of Congress and the White House. They pass policies that help rich people get richer. It helps the guy who has a private jet get another private jet in their big crappy bill."
Since Republicans have control of both the House and Senate, extending the credits will require some level of bipartisan support, something Kelly told reporters he doesn't have "high expectations for my Republican colleagues" to do.
"They've been trying to kill the Affordable Care Act for years, at multiple, dozens of votes against it. But some of them do realize that health care will become unaffordable for many of the people that they represent," Kelly said. "They're going to have an opportunity here next week to show the American people where they stand on this. Are they going to stand with hard-working folks trying to just be able to get some form of health insurance, or are they going to stand with the wealthiest Americans?"
