Sen. Mark Kelly calls Hegseth’s demotion threat the ‘height of hypocrisy” : NPR

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Senator Mark Kelly listened to us. Senator, welcome back.

SEN MARK KELLY: Well, thanks for having me, Steve.

INSKEEP: We were just listening to the words of the secretary of defense – seditious statements, a pattern of reckless misconduct from June to December. Have you been seditious or guilty of reckless misconduct?

KELLY: I did my job, which is to oversee the Department of Defense. I’m a member of the Armed Services Committee, and they should know that. They seem to have a problem with the separation of powers. We are the Article 1 branch of government, the United States Congress, and I have an oversight responsibility. And it goes beyond this video, Steve. Even in the censure letter they sent me yesterday, they talked in detail about other things I said. They don’t like what I say. For this reason, Donald Trump wanted me to hang and now prosecuted, and now we are at the point where they want to demote me.

INSKEEP: You have, of course, more than one identity. You are referring to your identity and your role, your responsibility as a senator. Do you have a special responsibility, as a retired military officer, to keep your mouth shut?

KELLY: Hey, we have a First Amendment constitutional right in this country to speak out against this government. This also applies to retired members of the U.S. military. I left the army 15 years ago. I served 25 years in the United States Navy. I flew 39 combat missions. I have flown into space four times, all wearing the American flag on my uniform. And you know, I gave so much for this country, as did my family. I’m fourth generation, you know, military. You know, can Donald Trump say that? I don’t think Pete Hegseth could say that either, you know, by the way. And this is how they are going to treat me. And that has a chilling effect on military personnel – retired military personnel in particular across the country, but anyone who has served in the military and any American citizen – that if you speak out against this president, they will come after you.

INSKEEP: We’ve heard Hegseth say he’s beginning a formal 45-day process, according to our Quil Lawrence report. Does this mean you have the opportunity to defend yourself, to hire a defense attorney to present evidence? What is the process, to your knowledge?

KELLY: Well, they haven’t told us what the process is, and, you know, that’s typical of them. I heard about it for the first time yesterday via social media. But it’s serious, and I’m going to take it seriously, and I’m going to, you know, fight with everything I’ve got.

INSKEEP: I will note that Secretary Hegseth, apparently, in a video from 2016, said similar things. I’ll just read the quote from Hegseth. His words should stand alone. I quote: “If you do something that is completely illegal and callous, there will be consequences. This is why the army declared that it would not follow the illegal orders of its commander-in-chief. » Was Pete Hegseth right in 2016?

KELLY: He was right. And isn’t that the height of hypocrisy? Pete Hegseth said something in 2016, specifically about Donald Trump. I said something generically: you have to follow the law, the Uniform Code of Military Justice. His case seems to be fine. My case, the president wanted me to be hanged, executed, prosecuted, and now they want to demote me.

INSKEEP: Let’s go back to some of the incidents you talked about. The most recent being of course the arrest of Nicolas Maduro, the president of Venezuela. Quil Lawrence talked about drug boats. Of course, your initial statement was in the context of American troops in American cities. Do you think that American troops have actually received illegal orders in recent months?

KELLY: I had a lot of questions about the attacks on the drug boats and I continue, especially the second one, you know, hitting the shipwrecked…

INSKEEP: That’s right.

KELLY: …You know, individuals. And I keep asking these questions and asking for, you know, more information. Every time we review a brief with this Department of Defense, we come away with more questions than we had, you know, initially. And I have been very concerned about the orders that this president might give. He talked about executing, killing family members of terrorists. This means women and children. He talked about shooting protesters – American citizens – in the legs and sending troops into American cities to train on American citizens.

INSKEEP: We only have a few seconds left, but I want to ask a specific question about Nicolas Maduro. Should Delta Force troops just say no, don’t do it?

KELLY: Well, so we – you know, we shouldn’t be in the business of diet change. Didn’t Donald Trump make that clear when he was running for president?

INSKEEP: But was it illegal, in your opinion?

KELLY: Well, I think we need to look at the constitutionality of these actions. In Maduro’s case, he is a bad guy and he should be prosecuted. And now the president is already supporting his hand-picked successor and saying we run the country. We are not. We do not run the country.

REGISTRATION: OK. Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona. It’s always a pleasure. Thank you, sir.

KELLY: Thank you.

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