'Unserious': Mark Kelly tears apart Trump officials' legal threats against him
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and wife former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) (Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr)
December 15, 2025
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) publicly refused to back down on CNN amid the Trump administration's legal threats against him for his joint video with ex-military Democrats reminding active servicemembers they must refuse illegal orders.
This comes after Kelly's legal team sent a warning to the Secretary of the Navy that they would pursue all avenues to stop an "unconstitutional and extraordinary abuse of power," like recalling him to active duty to court-martial him.
"I want to ask you, Punchbowl News is reporting that the Defense Department is now escalating its review of your participation in that video ... the Pentagon is now calling this a, quote, 'official command investigation,'" said anchor Anderson Cooper. "I know last time you and I spoke, you said you'd heard nothing about this investigation beyond a social media post from Secretary Hegseth. What have you heard now? What's your response to the reporting?"
"Well, first of all, Anderson, I haven't heard anything. Still nothing," said Kelly. "And this time to Pentagon correspondents, I guess it's Matt Gaetz and the pizzagate conspiracy guy put something on social media. That's how we were notified. That's how unserious they are. That shows like what this is all about. This is about attention."
"And they call it a command investigation," Kelly continued. "Anderson, I spent 25 years in the United States Navy. I was in many commands. I retired from the Navy 14 years ago. I'm not in any command now. I don't know what they're talking about."
"At some point, I imagine they'll probably notify me of something," he added. "I'll be withthe Secretary of Defensetomorrow in a briefing ... you know, maybe at thatpoint he's going to come up tome and say something officially,because I haven't heardanything officially from DOD."