Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

LetMyPeopleVote

(177,271 posts)
Sun Feb 15, 2026, 02:16 PM 11 hrs ago

MaddowBlog-After a judge sided with Mark Kelly, what happens to Pete Hegseth's crusade?

The sooner the Pentagon chief and the rest of the Trump administration move on from this fiasco, the better off everyone will be.

After a judge sided with Mark Kelly, what happens to Pete Hegseth’s crusade?
The sooner the Pentagon chief and the rest of the Trump administration move on from this fiasco, the better off everyone will be. Pete hegseth is another little trump bitch.

Donna898 (@donna-f898.bsky.social) 2026-02-14T18:01:28.412Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/after-a-judge-sided-with-mark-kelly-what-happens-to-pete-hegseths-crusade

In mid-December, the Pentagon announced that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was “escalating” his crusade against Sen. Mark Kelly, launching an “official Command Investigation” into the Arizona Democrat. It was, as The Washington Post noted soon after, an “unprecedented use of the military justice system to investigate a political adversary.”.....

If the former Fox News host had his hopes up, he has reason to be disappointed. MS NOW reported:

A federal judge temporarily blocked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday from censuring Sen. Mark Kelly or reducing his military pension over a video reminding troops to ‘refuse illegal orders.’

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon’s preliminary injunction prevents Hegseth from taking those actions or reducing Kelly’s rank as a retired Navy captain
.


“Secretary Hegseth relies on the well-established doctrine that military servicemembers enjoy less vigorous First Amendment protections given the fundamental obligation for obedience and discipline in the armed forces,” the George W. Bush-appointed jurist wrote in his 29-page opinion.

Unfortunately for Secretary Hegseth, no court has ever extended those principles to retired servicemembers, much less a retired servicemember serving in Congress and exercising oversight responsibility over the military,” the judge added. “This Court will not be the first to do so!”.....

Hegseth’s failure dovetails with one of his former Fox colleagues, Jeanine Pirro, who’s currently the top federal prosecutor in the nation’s capital, authorizing prosecutors this week to try to persuade a grand jury to indict Kelly and his congressional colleagues on charges of seditious conspiracy.

That didn’t go well: Regular citizens on the grand jury rejected the ridiculous gambit on Tuesday. In fact, MS NOW confirmed that literally zero members of the grand jury were inclined to go along with the partisan scheme.

The sooner Hegseth and the rest of the Trump administration move on from this fiasco, the better off everyone will be.
2 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
MaddowBlog-After a judge sided with Mark Kelly, what happens to Pete Hegseth's crusade? (Original Post) LetMyPeopleVote 11 hrs ago OP
"the better everyone will be" rampartd 11 hrs ago #1
Go home Kegbreath Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin 9 hrs ago #2

rampartd

(4,352 posts)
1. "the better everyone will be"
Sun Feb 15, 2026, 02:28 PM
11 hrs ago

kelly will be hounded for the rest of his life. the death threats and random violence are part and parcel of the trumpist totalitarian state. kelly's wife, already shot by a pre trumpist nutter, still gets threats.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/sen-kelly-says-death-threats-have-increased-since-trump-called-for-his-execution/ar-AA1RvQbD

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»MaddowBlog-After a judge ...