A federal appeals court appeared skeptical Thursday of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s effort to punish Democratic Senator Mark Kelly over comments urging U.S. troops to reject illegal orders.
According to CNN, judges on a three-member panel in Washington questioned the Justice Department’s arguments in seeking to revive Hegseth’s proposed penalty against Kelly, a retired Navy captain and former astronaut.
“This is something that is taught to every cadet at Annapolis,” Judge Nina Pillard said of Kelly’s comments in a video posted last year.
Judge Florence Paine said: “These are people who served their country – many risked their lives.”
Kelly sued Hegseth in January after the Pentagon announced plans to downgrade his retired military rank and issue a letter of censure.
The move follows a video in which Kelly and other Democratic lawmakers with military backgrounds urged service members not to follow unlawful orders.
Justice Department lawyer John Bailey argued that retired military personnel could still face limits on speech if it affected discipline within the armed forces.
Kelly’s attorney Benjamin Mizer called the proposed punishment “textbook retaliation for offensive speech.”
Outside court, Kelly warned: “If you say something that the President and this administration don’t like, they will come after you.”
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