MS NOW host Lawrence O’Donnell on Monday counseled Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) for suing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who lately introduced that he’ll downgrade the retired U.S. Navy Captain’s rank and pension over supposedly “seditious statements.”
Kelly was amongst six Democratic veterans urging U.S. service members in a video final fall to defy “illegal orders,” and whereas that is basically an obligation explicitly famous within the Uniform Code of Military Justice, President Donald Trump appeared to counsel on the time this was “punishable by DEATH!”
“Senator Kelly has insisted on this program and elsewhere that he will not be intimidated by Pete Hegseth,” O’Donnell mentioned Monday. “And today, Senator Kelly put Pete Hegseth on the defensive by literally making him a defendant in the case of Kelly versus Hegseth.”
Kelly’s criticism filed Monday in Washington, D.C., accuses Hegseth of violating his due course of, because the U.S. Constitution particularly notes that it’s unlawful for the federal government to announce a verdict prematurely — which Hegseth seemingly did on social media final week.
The former Fox News persona claimed on the time on X, previously Twitter, that Kelly and his friends launched a “reckless and seditious” video, main the Defense Department to launch “retirement grade determination proceedings” towards Kelly underneath 10 U.S.C § 1370(f).
Hegseth added on the time that the retired Navy captain would thus see “a corresponding reduction” in his pension. O’Donnell known as this a clear-cut case of “Lawfare for Dummies,” as Kelly’s pension was already finalized when he retired from the Navy some 14 years in the past.
“Nothing in the statute authorizes the Department of Defense to reopen that determination based on post-retirement political speech,” he continued, including that “all of the nation’s retired veterans” would dwell underneath “an ever-present threat” towards their retirement if it did.
O’Donnell then reiterated the phrases Kelly seems to be getting punished for: “Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders.” Kelly argued in his swimsuit that the investigation appears wholly premised on “accurate statements of law” that even Hegseth as soon as agreed with.
The swimsuit notes, “In a 2016 speech, Hegseth made clear that, ‘[i]f you’re doing something that is just completely unlawful and ruthless, then there is a consequence for that. That’s why the military said it won’t follow unlawful orders from their commander-in-chief.’”
O’Donnell famous that one other Trump official cited within the swimsuit as soon as embraced that tenet too.
He learn from Kelly’s criticism, which famous: “Before her appointment to attorney general, Pamela Bondi also endorsed this principle. In March 2024, she wrote a section in a court filing titled, ‘Military Officers Are Required Not to Carry Out Unlawful Orders.’”
O’Donnell precisely added that that is “among the first things” that each armed service member is taught and slammed Hegseth for setting out “to shame and fine” Kelly for one thing he as soon as mentioned himself — earlier than welcoming the besieged senator on his present.
“I want to commend you for the great summary of the lawsuit,” Kelly informed O’Donnell. “I also want to say, hey, I told these guys. I told Donald Trump and I told Pete Hegseth that I’m not backing down. I’m not going away. This is much bigger than me.”
He added, “I’ve served this country for 25 years. I did not expect that after all that service, and then continuing my service in the United States Senate, that I would one day have to sue the secretary of defense for violating my constitutional rights.”
Kelly concluded by noting that his actual purpose for taking this matter to court docket is to face up “for all Americans,” notably these veterans who don’t have a platform like he does — as a result of freedom of speech, due course of and the separation of powers nonetheless matter to him.
Watch the total “Last Word” phase on MS NOW’s YouTube account.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lawrence-odonnell-blasts-pete-hegseth-legal-battle-mark-kelly-lawfare-for-dummies_n_69664a58e4b0dd199b1a46c9