Sen. Mark Kelly filed a lawsuit against Pete Hegseth on Monday alleging that the Defense secretary violated his constitutional rights in retaliation for his appearance in a video telling troops they can refuse illegal orders.
“His unconstitutional crusade against me sends a chilling message to every retired member of the military: if you speak out and say something that the President or Secretary of Defense doesn’t like, you will be censured, threatened with demotion, or even prosecuted,” Kelly, a retired U.S. Navy captain, wrote in a statement.
The lawsuit states that lawmakers should “be given the widest latitude to express their views on issues of policy,” and that it’s unprecedented for a president to impose military sanctions on a member of Congress for expressing a political opinion.