Hegseth sent a “Secretarial Letter of Censure” to Kelly for simply sharing a video that asked the military to refuse any illegal orders that Trump might give. The Defense Secretary wrongly said that the video, which was perfectly reasonable and patriotic, “undermined the chain of command” and “counseled disobedience.” In truth, Kelly was defending our Constitution.
The senator filed a new lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court for D.C., claiming that Hegseth’s actions break many constitutional rights and have no legal basis.
The Pentagon is also being sued along with Hegseth.
The lawsuit says, “The First Amendment stops the government and its officials from punishing speech they don’t like or punishing people for their protected speech.”
It adds, “That rule is especially important when legislators are talking about public issues.”
The filing continues, “There has never been a time in our country’s history where the Executive Branch has punished a member of Congress for their political speech.”
It also says, “Letting this happen would change the balance of power in our government by making the Legislative Branch answer to the Executive and would make Congress less willing to check the military.”
Kelly’s lawyers say Hegseth also broke due process because Trump accused the senator of “treason and sedition” and demanded punishment before any legal steps were taken, and Hegseth repeated those claims.
The lawsuit claims that if Hegseth’s actions aren’t stopped, they will cause “immediate and serious harm” by punishing “protected speech” and making legislators less willing to hold the military accountable.
It also says this would send a message to retired service members and Congress that criticizing the president’s use of the military could lead to “retaliation.”
The lawsuit ends by asking the court to “declare the censure letter, the decision to reinstate Kelly, the determination about his military rank, and related actions illegal and unconstitutional; to cancel those actions; to stop them from being carried out; and to keep Congress and the military separate and independent.”
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