It Begins: DOW Confirms U.S. Navy Report Outlining Possible Punishments for Sen. Kelly Under 'Review'

RedState 

Anyone who has been anticipating an announcement from the U.S. military about potential permanent fallout for former servicemembers or intelligence agency staffers over the release of that "illegal orders" video by six now-national Democrat lawmakers could be one step closer to hearing some news.

As many RedState readers know, among the lawmakers was Arizona's senior senator, Mark Kelly, and it was Kelly whom the Pentagon singled out for a review for "serious allegations of misconduct.” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ordered the Navy through a memorandum in late Nov. to take a long look into it, and submit a report with their findings/recommended actions. And as we wrote, it could be just the starting line on bad news for the so-called 'seditious six.'

Now, it begins.

The Department of War confirmed on Thursday that, indeed, a report by Navy leadership is currently under review by the military branch's General Counsel to determine possible punishments for the retired naval captain, according to comments from a department official to The Hill:

The U.S. Navy has submitted its report on the potential punishments for Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) over a recent video where he and other Democratic lawmakers told U.S. service members to disobey “illegal orders.”

The report, which was ordered by the [War] Department and referred to the Navy, was sent to the Pentagon’s Office of General Counsel, “where they are providing a legal review and input,” a department official told The Hill on Thursday. 

The publication also sought reaction from the Copper State senator, and received a statement via a spokesperson for Kelly. Readers can decide for themselves the level of seriousness exhibited below:

“It defies belief that with all of the threats facing our country, Pete Hegseth initiated this ridiculous process to try to intimidate Senator Kelly for saying something Pete Hegseth himself has said repeatedly."

The report continued with more from the statement:

Kelly was never contacted or notified about the report and “it sure as hell won’t stop him from doing his job representing Arizona, whether that is voting today to lower health care costs or making sure our service members have what they need to do a very difficult job,” the spokesperson said, adding that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Trump “could do themselves a big favor and learn about our country’s history, the Constitution and the rule of law.” 

Anyone who's been following Sen. Kelly's comments, since the release of the Dem video suggesting that U.S. military members disregard orders from the commander in chief, is likely not surprised by any of that. We'll see where things go from here.