OH THIS IS SO DELICIOUS!! MARK KELLY *JUST* SUED PETE HEGSETH – YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST!
In a 46-page complaint *just now* filed with the Court (included for Notes from the Front members) Mark Kelly just sued Pete Hegseth for, among other things, violation of the First Amendment, for violation of the Speech and Debate clause, and for generally being a dick. (Ok, that last one isn’t a real legal cause of action, but perhaps it should be.)
The complaint starts out:
“Senator Mark Kelly is a retired Navy Captain, a sitting United States Senator, and a member of the Senate’s Armed Services Committee and Select Committee on Intelligence. Since his election to represent Arizona in 2020, Senator Kelly’s experience and expertise have made him a prominent and highly respected leader on issues related to national security, the military, and veterans affairs. Consistent with that role, he has made numerous public statements and taken other legislative action to address the appropriateness of the Trump Administration’s deployment of troops and the National Guard; military strikes; the conduct of senior defense officials; and the legal obligations of servicemembers—all of which are significant matters of public concern squarely within the First Amendment’s protections and the Senator’s responsibilities under Article I of the Constitution to oversee the armed forces and intelligence community.”
It then goes on to explain that “Executive Branch leaders swiftly responded to these statements with extreme rhetoric and punitive retribution. In November 2025, when Senator Kelly and five other Members of Congress released a video reiterating servicemembers’ longstanding and widely accepted legal obligation to disregard unlawful orders, President Trump and Secretary Hegseth publicly branded his statements as “sedition” and “treason,” and warned that there would be consequences.”
Well, consequences there are indeed! But perhaps not the ones they anticipated, like the consequences of Kelly lawyering up and suing their asses (and by “their asses” I mean the administration’s asses, Hegseth being among them).
I keep saying that the lawyers are some of the unsung heroes of this whole thing (not me, I mean the ones girding up and doing battle with this administration).
Notes from the Front members: the entire 46-page complaint is in your inbox now – it’s a delight!
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https://annepmitchell.substack.com/p/oh-this-is-so-delicious-mark-kelly
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