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The Office of the Secretary of War on Monday escalated its preliminary review of Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., to a full command investigation, according to a report.
The investigation into Kelly for “serious allegations of misconduct” has intensified, according to a Pentagon official, first reported by Punchbowl News, with a new probe in conjunction with the Department of War’s Office of the General Counsel.
The department previously announced it had launched a formal review into allegations of misconduct against Kelly over a video calling on service members to “refuse illegal orders.”
KELLY SHRUGS OFF TRUMP COURT-MARTIAL THREAT, SAYS GROWING UP IN TONY SOPRANO’S HOMETOWN MADE HIM ‘RESILIENT’
The Department of War received information regarding potentially unlawful comments made by Mark E. Kelly, according to a statement on Tuesday, Nov. 25. (Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
A War Department official confirmed to Digital that the Office of the Secretary of War is “escalating the preliminary review of Captain Mark Kelly, USN (Ret.), to an official Command Investigation.”
“Retired Captain Kelly is currently under investigation for serious allegations of misconduct,” the official said. “Further official comments will be limited to preserve the integrity of the proceedings.”
HEGSETH RIPS MARK KELLY’S POST ABOUT HIS SERVICE: ‘YOU CAN’T EVEN DISPLAY YOUR UNIFORM CORRECTLY’
War Secretary Pete Hegseth listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)
Kelly said in a statement that “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.”
“It wasn’t enough for Donald Trump to say I should be hanged,” he continued. “It wasn’t enough for Pete Hegseth to threaten me with a court martial. Now they are threatening everything I fought and served for across twenty-five years in the U.S. Navy—all because I repeated something every service member is taught.”
Kelly added that he will “keep doing my job representing Arizona.”
“If Trump and Hegseth think this will stop me from doing what I’ve done every day of my adult life—fighting for this country—then they’ve got the wrong guy. Tomorrow, and the next day, I will keep doing my job representing Arizona.”
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Senator Mark Kelly, a former Navy Captain, urged troops to refuse “illegal orders” in the viral video. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Digital has reached out Kelly’s office for comment.
