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Trump administration escalates threats to Democratic lawmakers who warned troops against ‘illegal orders’
Alex Woodwardin New YorkTuesday 25 November 2025 19:15 GMTComments
CloseDemocrats remind US Armed Forces their oath is to the Constitution not the president
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The FBI and Department of Justice are scheduling interviews with members of Congress who urged service members to ignore “illegal orders” and commit to their oath to the Constitution, escalating threats from Donald Trump’s administration against Democratic elected officials he accused of treason.
Senator Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA analyst who joined five other lawmakers in last week’s video statement, said she and other members received a note from the FBI’s counter terrorism division Monday night.
“To be honest the president’s reaction and the use of the FBI against us is exactly why we made the video,” she said in a Tuesday statement. “He believes in using the federal government against his perceived adversaries, and he’s not afraid to use the arms of the government against people he disagrees with. He does not believe the law applies to him.”
The latest move follows an announcement from the Department of Defense threatening to recall Senator Mark Kelly to face a military tribunal for what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called “seditious” acts.
Democratic members of Congress and veterans groups have condemned the investigations as politically motivated stunts intended to silence dissent against the Trump administration.
open image in galleryPam Bondi’s Department of Justice is probing six Democratic members of Congress as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth probes lawmakers who joined a video urging service members to ignore ‘illegal orders’ and commit to the Constitution. (AFP via Getty Images)“President Trump is using the FBI as a tool to intimidate and harass members of Congress,” according to a joint statement from Reps. Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander and Chrissy Houlahan, who joined last week’s video message.
“No amount of intimidation or harassment will ever stop us from doing our jobs and honoring our Constitution,” they said in a statement Monday. “We swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. That oath lasts a lifetime, and we intend to keep it. We will not be bullied. We will never give up the ship.”
The Independent has requested comment from the FBI and Justice Department.
Last week’s video from the six lawmakers, all of whom have military and intelligence backgrounds, warns military personnel against “threats to our Constitution” coming “from right here at home,” an apparent reference to the Trump administration’s deployment of federalized National Guard troops into Democratic-led cities to support the president’s mass deportation agenda — actions that veterans groups have also publicly condemned.
The video also follows concerns from Congress and veterans — as well as top military officials — that the Trump administration is launching illegal missile strikes against suspected drug-running boats in the Caribbean and Pacific waters.
Defense officials and the White House have defended the killings of more than 80 people in recent weeks as justified use of force against “terrorists” bringing drugs into the United States.
An official with the Justice Department told Reuters that the upcoming interviews are intended to determine “if there’s any wrongdoing and then go from there.”
Jacob Thomas, an Air Force veteran with progressive veterans advocacy group Common Defense, said he was “appalled” by the Pentagon’s announcement of the Kelly investigation.
“This sham probe, spurred by baseless allegations from the Trump administration, is nothing more than an attempt to silence dissent and intimidate those who remind our troops of their duty to uphold the Constitution over unlawful orders,” he said in a statement. “Senator Kelly’s call to refuse illegal directives is not misconduct, it’s patriotism. We must stand against this abuse of power and protect the integrity of our military institutions.”
open image in gallerySenator Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA intelligence officer, accused the Trump administration of trying to intimidate her and other veteran lawmakers (REUTERS)Senator Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee and a former Army paratrooper, called the Pentagon’s investigation an “outrageous abuse of power.”
“This is political retribution straight from the autocrat playbook. It has no place in America. And it won’t work,” he added.
Senator Ruben Gallego, Kelly’s counterpart in Arizona and a Marine veteran, addressed Hegseth directly during an interview with CNN Monday.
“You will never, ever, ever even be half the man that Senator Kelly is,” Gallego said. “You, sir, are a coward. And the fact that you are following this order from the president shows how big of a coward you are.”
open image in gallerySenator Mark Kelly, a decorated Navy pilot, says lawmakers will not back down after Trump’s threats (REUTERS)Trump, who has leveraged the Justice Department and now the Pentagon to pursue his perceived political enemies, said members of Congress in the video should be immediately arrested and shared posts on his Truth Social account suggesting they should be executed.
“Their words cannot be allowed to stand,” he wrote on Truth Social. “We won’t have a Country anymore!!! An example MUST BE SET.”
Hegseth said the video from members of Congress “may seem harmless to civilians — but it carries a different weight inside the military” and is a “politically-motivated influence operation.”
“In the military, vague rhetoric and ambiguity undermines trust, creates hesitation in the chain of command, and erodes cohesion,” he wrote on X Tuesday. “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.”
Hegseth, who has labeled the lawmakers the “Seditious Six,” also lashed out at Kelly and appeared to undermine his rank and record of service by criticizing the appearance of his medals and uniform.
He said that Kelly, Navy veteran and NASA astronaut who retired in 2011 with the rank of captain, will face a uniform inspection “when/if” he is called back to active duty to face a military court.
“I said something that was pretty simple and non-controversial, and that was that members of the military should follow the law,” Kelly told MS NOW Monday.
“And in response to that, Donald Trump said I should be executed. I should be hanged. I should be prosecuted,” he added. “I think it says a lot more about him than it says about me. He doesn’t want accountability.”
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