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A grand jury in the nation’s capital on Tuesday rejected the Justice Department’s effort to indict a group of Democratic lawmakers who encouraged US military members to ignore “illegal” orders in a video posted online.
The DOJ launched an investigation into a video showing six Democratic lawmakers calling on troops and members of the intelligence community to disobey illegal orders from the federal government. All the MLAs were working in the army or intelligence agencies.
The lawmakers in the video were Senators Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Mark Kelly of Arizona, as well as Representatives Chris DeLuzio and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire and Jason Crow of Colorado.
“This administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens,” the lawmakers said in the video. “Like us, you all took an oath to protect and defend this Constitution. Right now, the threats to our Constitution are coming not just from abroad but at home. Our laws are clear. You can reject illegal orders. You must reject illegal orders. No one should have to follow orders that violate the law or our Constitution.”
Democrat senator says he is under federal investigation over video of ‘unlawful orders’
A grand jury in the nation’s capital on Tuesday rejected the Justice Department’s effort to indict a group of Democratic lawmakers who encouraged US military members to ignore “illegal” orders. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
According to the Associated Press, grand jurors refused to sign charges against the lawmakers. It was not immediately clear whether prosecutors had brought charges against all six lawmakers or what charges they sought to bring.
Prosecutors may still try to secure charges against Democrats.
President Donald Trump accused the lawmakers of being “traitors” who engaged in “treason at the highest level” and that they “should be in jail.” He also suggested that he should be hanged on video, although he later attempted to retract that comment.
Slotkin, who previously worked at the CIA and Defense Department, was targeted with bomb threats just days after the clip and Trump’s subsequent statements suggesting hanging Democrats.
Sen. Mark Kelly takes dig at ‘illegal orders’ stance, tells Jimmy Kimmel he’s ‘not backing down’
President Donald Trump accused the lawmakers of being “traitors” who engaged in “treason at the highest level.” (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images; Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“Tonight we can score a point for the Constitution, our freedom of speech, and the rule of law,” Slotkin said in a statement Tuesday. “But today was not just a shameful day for the administration. It was another tragic day for our country.”
Kelly, a former Navy pilot, called the impeachment effort an “outrageous abuse of power by Donald Trump and his supporters.”
“Donald Trump wants every American to be afraid to speak out against him,” Kelly said on X.
In November, the Pentagon began investigating Kelly, pointing to a federal law that allows retired service members to be recalled to active duty on the secretary’s order for possible court-martial or other punishment.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has condemned Kelly and is attempting to retroactively demote Kelly from his retired captain rank over his participation in the video, which confirms that refusing illegal orders is a standard part of military protocol.
Prosecutors may still try again to secure indictments against the Democrats. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
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“As a retired Navy Captain who still receives a military pension, Captain Kelly knows he is still accountable to military justice,” Hegseth wrote in an X post on January 5.
Kelly responded by suing Hegseth to stop those proceedings, which he called an unconstitutional act of retaliation.
During a hearing last week, a judge appeared skeptical of key arguments a government lawyer made in defense of Hegseth’s move to censure the Arizona senator last month.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
