DOJ Seeks Information From Lawmakers Who Filmed Video Reminding Servicemembers of Right To Refuse Illegal Orders

Democratic lawmakers who filmed a video last year reminding servicemembers of their right to refuse illegal orders are now being contacted by the Department of Justice for information about their statements. One of the six members of Congress in that video, Senator Mark Kelly, is already suing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for his attempt to dock his retirement pay and his rank. The five lawmakers who filmed the video include one former intelligence officer, Senator Elissa Slotkin, and five retired members of the military. In their video posted in December, they said that federal law not only allowed servicemembers to refuse illegal orders, but that they had a responsibility to do so, as well. “Like us, you all swore an oath” to the Constitution, Mr. Kelly said in the video, which was posted in December. The five other members of Congress offered similar advice, urging members of the military to remember their ultimate responsibility to the Constitution. One of the lawmakers, Congressman Jason Crow, who is a retired Army Ranger, told reporters on Wednesday that the DOJ has now contacted him and his colleagues about the video. Earlier Wednesday morning, Ms. Slotkin said she also had been contacted by the DOJ. “What Senator Slotkin is facing is the exact same thing that all the members who filmed this video are facing right now. It’s the same situation that the Trump administration has decided to weaponize the Department of Justice to try to silence their political opponents and suppress dissent,” Mr. Crow said on the steps of the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon. “We took an oath to this country to enforce the law, and that is exactly what we are going to do, and we will not allow any president to intimidate us and threaten us and dissuade us from performing our duty and fulfilling our oath,” he said. The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Wednesday morning, Ms. Slotkin — a former intelligence officer and assistant secretary of defense — announced that the DOJ had contacted her in order to get information about the video. “Last week, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, former Fox [News] host Jeanine Pirro, reached out asking to interview me because of a 90-second video that I filmed in November,” Ms. Slotkin said. “This is on top of an FBI inquiry that came in from the counterterrorism division late last year.”Shortly after the video was shared, President Trump began posting about how all six lawmakers were guilty of sedition, and even shared a message calling on the members of Congress to be hanged. Ms. Slotkin says she received more than 100 credible threats following Mr. Trump’s tirades. “I had a bomb threat at my house, my parents were swatted in the middle of the night, and my siblings had cop cars placed in their driveways,” she said. The recent civilian investigation into the lawmakers follows Mr. Hegseth’s decision to try to dock Mr. Kelly’s retirement pay and military rank. He retired as a Navy captain in 2011 after serving for 25 years as a combat pilot and astronaut. Mr. Kelly has sued Mr. Hegseth over the attempts to punish him, saying that the defense secretary is going on an “unconstitutional crusade” against lawmakers who speak out against the administration. “The Executive’s actions … trample on protections the Constitution singles out as essential to legislative independence. It appears that never in our nation’s history has the Executive Branch imposed military sanctions on a Member of Congress for engaging in disfavored political speech,” the lawsuit states. “Allowing that unprecedented step here would invert the constitutional structure by subordinating the Legislative Branch to executive discipline and chilling congressional oversight of the armed forces.”

DOJ Seeks Information From Lawmakers Who Filmed Video Reminding Servicemembers of Right To Refuse Illegal Orders

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