Sens. Kelly, Slotkin Denounce Justice Department for Seeking to Indict Them

WASHINGTON—Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) denounced the Department of Justice on Feb. 11 for pursuing criminal charges against them for releasing a video reminding U.S. military personnel to refuse illegal orders.

The two Democratic senators held a press conference a day after multiple media outlets, citing unnamed sources, reported a grand jury had rejected an indictment the Justice Department brought against them. Reports indicated Jeanine Pirro, the top U.S. Attorney in the District of Columbia, sought the charges.

Though the reports indicated he was spared from criminal prosecution, at least momentarily, Kelly said: “This is not a good news story.”

“This is a story about how Donald Trump and his cronies are trying to break our system in order to silence anyone who lawfully speaks out against them and to send a signal to every American that they better think twice before they speak out, or they might be next.”

Kelly and Slotkin further denounced Pirro and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in their remarks on Wednesday.

The Justice Department and Pirro’s office did not respond to a request for comment about the reported effort to prosecute the Democratic senators.

Reps. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.), Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), and Jason Crow (D-Colo.) joined Kelly and Slotkin in filming the Nov. 18 video in which they called for U.S. troops to disobey illegal orders.

Each of the six Democratic lawmakers is a military or intelligence community veteran.

The Nov. 18 video drew backlash from across the Trump administration.

Trump referred to the video as “seditious behavior from traitors.”

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the video—in which the lawmakers did not list any specific orders that may be legal—was intended to undermine order and discipline within the ranks.

Speaking at the press conference on Wednesday, Slotkin said the Justice Department began investigating the video in December and brought charges to a grand jury seven days after she and Kelly declined a request to sit for a voluntary interview to discuss the video.

Slotkin said she did not know what charges the Justice Department may have pursued against her and Kelly.

“We have not been formally told what they were trying to charge us with and what law they were using. It’s just what we’re hearing through the media,” she said.

The Justice Department’s reported effort to secure an indictment against Kelly and Slotkin is separate from a formal letter of censure Hegseth issued against Kelly last month. Hegseth announced the letter as part of an effort to reduce Kelly’s military retirement grade and retirement pay.

Kelly is actively challenging the censure letter in court.

Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson defended the Trump administration’s efforts to punish the Democratic lawmakers who filmed the Nov. 18 letter urging U.S. troops to disobey illegal orders.

“Anytime you’re obstructing law enforcement and getting in the way of these sensitive operations, it’s a very serious thing, and it probably is a crime. And, yeah, they probably should be indicted,” Johnson said.

In an X post on Wednesday, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) described the reported attempt to prosecute Kelly and Slotkin as “political lawfare.”

“Thankfully, in this instance, a jury saw the attempted indictments for what they really were,” Tillis added.

Kelly and Slotkin both thanked Tillis for joining in condemning the prosecution attempt.