On Monday, the Pentagon revealed it is intensifying its initial investigation into “serious allegations of misconduct” against Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona. This development follows his involvement in a contentious video advising military personnel that they have the right to refuse orders they deem “unlawful,” a stance criticized by the Trump administration for potentially undermining military discipline.

The Pentagon’s Office of General Counsel initiated this review, as reported by Becca Lower of RedState last week. The purpose was to assess potential disciplinary actions for Kelly, a retired naval captain.

According to a Pentagon spokesperson, Senator Kelly is now subject to “an official Command Investigation.”

The Department of War elaborated in a statement to Breitbart News, “The Office of the Secretary of War, alongside the Department of War’s Office of the General Counsel, is advancing the preliminary review of Captain Mark Kelly, USN (Ret.), to a formal Command Investigation.”

“The Office of the Secretary of War, in conjunction with the Department of War’s Office of the General Counsel, is escalating the preliminary review of Captain Mark Kelly, USN (Ret.), to an official Command Investigation,” the Department of War official said in a statement sent to Breitbart News. 

READ MORE: DOD Confirms U.S. Navy Report Outlining Possible Punishments for Sen. Kelly Under ‘Review’

READ MORE: DOW Confirms U.S. Navy Report Outlining Possible Punishments for Sen. Kelly Under ‘Review’

Uh-Oh: Mark Kelly Entering the ‘Find Out’ Phase After Urging Military to Defy Orders, and It’s Not Good

Kelly, a former Navy pilot, is currently the lone member of what Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is calling the “seditious six” under investigation. Democrat Reps. Chris Deluzio (PA-17), Chrissy Houlahan (PA-6), Maggie Goodlander (NH-2), and Jason Crow (CO-6), along with Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), took part in the controversial video that urged military troops and intelligence officials to defy “illegal orders.”

The problem is that there is a vast difference between manifestly illegal orders and those whose illegality is debatable. The latter of which, refusing to obey an order one feels personally questionable, is itself illegal, under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). 

A military order laced with doubt could result not just in failure but also in putting soldiers in harm’s way. It could lead to injury. It could lead to death. This isn’t about scoring political points; it’s about a serious breach of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). 

A Department of War statement issued last month explained that Kelly’s potential “serious” misconduct was under consideration for punishment, including a court-martial or other “administrative measures.”

An “official Command Investigation” is an upgrade that analyzes more serious or substantiated allegations, granting it broader powers, such as the ability to take sworn testimony.

A defiant Kelly responded to the Pentagon announcement that his review was being escalated on social media.

Tonight, we learned the Pentagon is escalating its review of me into “an official command investigation.”

If Donald Trump or Pete Hegseth think they can stop me from doing my job and serving the American people, they’ve got the wrong guy. pic.twitter.com/wjKVr37vby

— Senator Mark Kelly (@SenMarkKelly) December 16, 2025

“It should send a shiver down the spine of every patriotic American that the president and secretary of defense would abuse their power to come after me or anyone this way,” he complained.

Hegseth blasted Kelly and other Democratic lawmakers before the escalation of the review.

“In the military, vague rhetoric and ambiguity undermines trust, creates hesitation in the chain of command, and erodes cohesion,” he wrote on X. “The military already has clear procedures for handling unlawful orders. It does not need political actors injecting doubt into an already clear chain of command.”

“As veterans of various sorts, the Seditious Six knew exactly what they were doing—sowing doubt through a politically-motivated influence operation,” added Hegseth. “The [Department of War] won’t fall for it or stand for it.”

Kelly and his ‘seditious’ colleagues wanted to play politics with the military. Now they’re finding out that such a dangerous game might just have consequences.

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