GOP Senators Defend Mark Kelly As Pentagon Seeks To Punish Him | EUROtoday

WASHINGTON ― Two Republican senators spoke up in protection of their Democratic colleague, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, because the Trump administration seeks to punish him in response to a video he recorded final week, noting the army can defy unlawful orders.

“Senator Kelly valiantly served our country as an aviator in the U.S. Navy before later completing four space shuttle missions as a NASA astronaut,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) wrote in a social media submit on Tuesday. “To accuse him and other lawmakers of treason and sedition for rightfully pointing out that servicemembers can refuse illegal orders is reckless and flat-out wrong.”

The average GOP senator added, “The Department of Defense and FBI surely have more important priorities than this frivolous investigation.”

Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah), a conservative who changed Mitt Romney within the Senate, wrote: “I respect Mark Kelly and value his friendship.”

He went on so as to add, “I know him as someone whose career has been defined by service. His record as a combat naval aviator and NASA astronaut reflects his example of the discipline and dedication that are important for success.”

The Department of Defense mentioned earlier this week it’s reviewing “serious allegations of misconduct” towards the Arizona senator, who’s a embellished U.S. Navy veteran, and urged he might face a court-martial. On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth requested the Navy secretary to assessment Kelly’s feedback within the video for “potentially unlawful conduct.”

Kelly has confronted a barrage of assaults from President Donald Trump, who mentioned he and the opposite 5 Democratic lawmakers who participated within the video message to servicemembers have been responsible of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH.” The president then shared a submit on-line calling for his or her hanging.

The FBI has additionally gotten concerned by in search of to interview Kelly and the opposite Democratic lawmakers with its personal probe, one other extremely uncommon transfer on this saga.

It’s unclear whether or not any of those efforts will succeed since lawmakers are protected by the speech and debate clause of the U.S. Constitution, which shields members of Congress from being questioned or arrested for his or her official legislative actions.

Appearing on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on Tuesday, Kelly known as Hegseth “totally unqualified” for the job of protection secretary.

“And from what I can tell in talking to some of my Republican colleagues, I mean, he just wants to please the president,” Kelly mentioned of Hegseth, who was narrowly confirmed by the Senate after allegations of alcohol abuse and misconduct.

“I’m not backing down,” Kelly advised the late night time host. “We said something very simple: Members of the military need to follow the law. We wanted to say that we have their backs. His response? Kill them.”

Kelly was first elected to the Senate in 2020, profitable a particular election to fill the rest of the late Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) time period. He was thought-about a possible operating mate for Kamala Harris within the 2024 presidential election and is extensively considered as a doable 2028 Democratic presidential contender.

Trump’s threats have solely served to raise Kelly inside the Democratic Party. He’s since appeared on CBS’ “Face the Nation” over the weekend, in addition to a number of cable information packages which can be well-liked with liberal viewers, together with ABC’s Kimmel, and MSNOW’s Rachel Maddow, Chris Hayes, and Joe Scarborough.

Despite his guarantees to finish the “weaponization” of regulation enforcement in the course of the 2024 presidential marketing campaign, Trump has ordered the Department of Justice to pursue lots of his perceived enemies. In latest months, the DOJ has introduced legal prices towards three distinguished critics of the president, although a choose this week dismissed two of these circumstances.