The Defense Department said Monday that it is “escalating” its probe into Sen. Mark Kelly, after the Arizona Democrat appeared in a video with five other Democratic members of Congress last month to remind service members of their duty to disobey illegal orders.
A Pentagon spokesperson said Kelly, a former senior U.S. Navy officer and pilot, now faces “an official Command Investigation” over “serious allegations of misconduct.”
Appearing on “Morning Joe” on Tuesday, Kelly said he had yet to be informed of an escalation in the investigation. “I still have not been notified by the Department of Defense or the United States Navy,” he said. “I’ve actually heard nothing.”
When co-host Willie Geist asked whether Kelly thought the probe was an “actual investigation” or a “social media campaign,” the senator replied: “Probably the latter.”
“From my perspective, it doesn’t seem very serious, though we do have to take this seriously,” Kelly added. He said his legal team would mount a strong defense.
Since the Democrats’ video was released last month, Kelly has been attacked by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on social media. On Tuesday, MS NOW reported that the pair got into a heated exchange during a classified briefing on the Trump administration’s boat strikes in the Caribbean.
After Kelly, who was seated directly in front of the defense secretary, asked about the military’s strikes on alleged drug boats, Hegseth responded by speaking about legal and illegal orders, a reference to the video from the Democratic lawmakers.
Hours before that interaction, Kelly told “Morning Joe,” that the investigation into him was all about “intimidation,” but said the administration would be unsuccessful in silencing him.
“In this case, they got the wrong guy,” he said. “I’m not going to back off. I’m not going to stop doing my job because Donald Trump said I should be hanged and executed and Hegseth says there’s going to be an investigation.”
The former Navy helicopter pilot and astronaut called Hegseth the “most unqualified secretary of defense we’ve ever had,” and said he was concerned about the state of the department.
There are “trouble spots everywhere, and Pete Hegseth is focused on the wrong thing,” he said.
Kelly said the U.S. has the “greatest military in the world” but argued that since taking the job, Hegseth “has done significant damage to our ability to keep our nation safe.”
You can watch Kelly’s full interview on “Morning Joe” in the clip at the top of the page.
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW.