Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., said that the answer to talk of a potential court-martial under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) is to put the Department of War and military officials under oath regarding Operation Southern Spear.
"We're going to investigate it," Kelly told NBC's "Meet the Press." "I sit on the Armed Services Committee.
"We're going to have a public hearing. We're going to put these folks under oath. And then there needs to be accountability."
Kelly's vow comes as he faces scrutiny for allegedly dog-whistling potential military insubordination against superiors and the commander in chief, after joining the Democrats' criticizing President Donald Trump, a move Republicans say weaponizes opposition to the use of military force and command.
Pressed about The Washington Post reporting War Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered U.S. forces to "kill everybody" aboard a suspected drug boat during a September strike, Kelly said such claims demand immediate scrutiny.
"If orders are illegal, they are legally required not to follow them," he said, adding he hopes the reporting is wrong but intends to uncover the truth.
Kelly dismissed "ridiculous" accusations that he violated military law by joining a video urging service members not to follow unlawful orders. The Pentagon and FBI are reportedly reviewing the message, and Hegseth has publicly threatened to recall Kelly to active duty for potential court-martial.
"We say, 'Follow the law,' and this is their response?" Kelly said. "Donald Trump said I should be hanged. Pete Hegseth said I should be court-martialed. These are not serious people.
"This is about intimidation. And I'm not going to be bullied."
Trump did not say Kelly should be hanged. He has instead argued that calls for sedition constitute calls for military insurrection, a crime that can carry the death penalty under U.S. law and has been used previously against Trump supporters protesting at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Kelly, a former Navy combat pilot, remains subject to the UCMJ. The other five Democrats that conservatives rebuke as the "seditious six" are not.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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