By Jan Wolfe
WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) – Lawyers for U.S. Senator Mark Kelly will ask a federal judge on Tuesday to block the Pentagon’s proceedings to demote his retired Navy captain rank because he urged troops to reject unlawful orders.
The court hearing, set for 4 p.m. ET in Washington, is another test of President Donald Trump’s historic campaign of vengeance against his perceived political enemies, which has drawn pushback from judges across the ideological spectrum.
The case is being heard by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, an appointee of President George W. Bush who previously blocked a Trump executive order targeting the WilmerHale law firm, calling it a “staggering” act of retaliation.
Kelly, a retired Navy captain and former astronaut, was one of six congressional Democrats who appeared in a November video that reminded service members of their duty to reject unlawful orders. In the clip, Kelly stated: “Our laws are clear: You can refuse illegal orders.”
Kelly’s remarks came as more Democrats were criticizing Trump’s decisions to deploy the National Guard in U.S. cities and authorize lethal strikes on boats suspected of smuggling drugs from Latin America.
The Republican president, in a social media post, called the video “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH.”
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a censure letter on January 5, asserting that Kelly had “clearly intended to undermine good order and military discipline” in violation of military rules that apply to both active and retired personnel.
Trump administration lawyers have urged Leon to dismiss the case, calling it a “quintessential matter of military discipline not within the Judiciary’s purview” in a recent court filing. The Trump administration has also called the lawsuit premature, saying Kelly has not yet been formally censured and should have responded to Hegseth’s allegations through administrative channels.
(Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Additional reporting by Mike Scarcella; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Mark Porter)
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