By Jana Winter and Joseph Ax
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The FBI has requested interviews with six Democratic members of the U.S. Congress who in a video message told members of the military they can legally refuse to carry out unlawful orders, a Justice Department official told Reuters on Tuesday.
The Pentagon on Monday threatened to recall Senator Mark Kelly, a Navy veteran and one of the six lawmakers, to active duty potentially to face military charges over what Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth described on social media as “seditious” acts.
President Donald Trump, who critics have said has sought to harness the power of the government to try to stifle dissent, accused the six Democrats of sedition and said in a social media post that the crime is punishable by death.
The Justice Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the FBI interviews with the lawmakers were to determine “if there’s any wrongdoing, and then go from there.” The FBI is headed by Trump appointee Kash Patel.
In a memo made public on Tuesday, Hegseth referred Kelly to the secretary of the Navy for “potentially unlawful comments” made in the video last week. Hegseth, in the memo, said he wanted a brief on the outcome of the review by December 10.
‘NOT THE AMERICA I KNOW’
In statements on Tuesday, the Democrats described the FBI move as an effort by the Trump administration to intimidate them into silence.
“The President directing the FBI to target us is exactly why we made this video in the first place,” U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, a former CIA officer and one of the six Democrats, said on X. “This is not the America I know, and I’m not going to let this next step from the FBI stop me from speaking up for my country, and our Constitution.”
The lawmakers have said their video statements accurately reflected U.S. law. American troops swear an oath to the U.S. Constitution, not the president, and under military rules must follow “any lawful general order or regulation.”
The other Democrats who appeared in the video released last week include U.S. Representatives Jason Crow, Maggie Goodlander, Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan, all military veterans.
The four House Democrats in a joint statement accused Trump of using the FBI as a tool to intimidate members of Congress and vowed that they would not be silenced. Kelly did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
CONCERNS ABOUT VENEZUELA BOAT STRIKES
The video did not refer to any specific illegal order, but many Democrats have expressed concerns – echoed privately by some U.S. military commanders – that the Trump administration is violating the law by ordering strikes on vessels purportedly carrying suspected drug traffickers in Latin American waters. The Pentagon has called the strikes justified because drug smugglers are considered terrorists.
Democrats have also questioned the legality of Trump’s use of military forces in American cities.
The probe was reported earlier by Fox News.
Trump’s administration has shattered democratic norms by using law enforcement to pursue his perceived enemies. The Justice Department in recent months brought criminal charges against three prominent critics of the president, though a judge on Monday dismissed two of those cases.
There is no charge of sedition under U.S. law for civilians, though the charge of “seditious conspiracy” carries a maximum penalty of 20 years. Several leaders of the January 6, 2021, attack by Trump supporters on the U.S. Capitol were convicted of that crime before Trump pardoned them.
For troops, the Uniform Code of Military Justice includes a section on sedition, with possible penalties including death.
(Reporting by Jana Winter; Additional reporting by Idrees Ali, David Morgan, Bo Erickson and Jasper Ward; Writing by Joseph Ax; Editing by Scott Malone, Lisa Shumaker and Will Dunham )
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