More than six dozen retired senior military officials are urging a federal appeals court to block Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from punishing Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) over the so-called “illegal orders” video.
In a friend-of-the-court filing Monday, the officials noted their brief “may be viewed with disfavor by the secretary,” but they said cracking down on Kelly for exercising his First Amendment rights is an illegal abuse of power.
“This decision is not made lightly: the attempt to punish Senator Kelly suggests that public disagreement with the Secretary — even if made in good faith and supported factually — invites retaliation,” the group wrote.
