As RedState has reported, the fallout from the video released last Tuesday by six Democrat members of Congress has intensified, with President Trump calling their actions “seditious” and Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth announcing an investigation into Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), one of the participants in the video.
Kelly alleged without evidence that “this administration” was “pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens.” At a later point, he stated that “You can refuse illegal orders.” At no point, however, did any of the participants, which included Reps. Chris Deluzio (PA-17), Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), Maggie Goodlander (NH-02), Jason Crow (CO-06), and Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) – share what those “illegal orders” might be.
On Monday, the Department of War wrote that it had “received serious allegations of misconduct against Captain Mark Kelly, USN (Ret.).”
“In accordance with the Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. § 688, and other applicable regulations, a thorough review of these allegations has been initiated to determine further actions,” their post went on to note.
On Monday night, Kelly appeared on the Democrats’ favorite “news” network, MS NOW (formerly MSNBC), for an interview with anchor Rachel Maddow. During the segment, Maddow asked Kelly about the “illegal orders” and if the lawmakers – all former military personnel or intelligence agents – had any specifically in mind when they created the video.
Here was Kelly’s response:
MADDOW: “When you and your colleagues made that video, were there specific, potentially illegal orders that you were thinking about that were the sort of precipitating cause for you guys to get together and do that?”
KELLY: “Here’s the thing, Rachel. You don’t want to wait for your kid to get hit by a car before you tell them to look both ways.”
Watch:
Democrat Senator Mark Kelly accidentally admits on air to Rachel Maddow that there were no specific illegal orders from President Trump behind the viral video stunt warning the military to defy the White House.
MADDOW: “When you and your colleagues made that video, were there… pic.twitter.com/nzZrcPwQRc
— Overton (@overton_news) November 25, 2025
As we also reported, Slotkin made a similar admission Sunday after being asked a similar question by ABC News “This Week” anchor Martha Raddatz:
Elissa Slotkin ADMITS Democrats lied about President Trump issuing illegal orders to the military:
ABC: “Do you believe President Trump has issued any illegal orders?”
SLOTKIN: “To my knowledge I am not aware of things that are illegal.” pic.twitter.com/63F8AHkK7E
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 23, 2025
To date, not a single participant in the video has been able to point to any alleged “illegal order” that came from the Trump administration, something my colleague Rusty Weiss pointed out was especially relevant for the following reason:
You can’t perform “legal gymnastics” in choosing whether or not to defy orders one personally feels are illegal. Democrats are encouraging service members to use left-wing mental gymnastics to interpret the orders as unlawful. There is a vast difference between manifestly or patently illegal orders and those whose illegality is debatable, contested, or requires legal interpretation.
The latter of which, refusing to obey an order one feels personally questionable, is itself illegal.
SEE ALSO: PBS Claims Military Officers Are Lawyering Up Over Trump’s Orders but What’s Really Happening?
In my opinion, the lawmakers feel that some orders that were already given are illegal, something that, in my view, was deliberately insinuated instead of being expressly stated in the video to sow doubt in the military, and which will have the net effect of creating unnecessary confusion and division within the ranks.
I’m not a member of the military, but I don’t think you have to be to see how devious the actions of the Democrat lawmakers were. As to whether it rises to “seditious,” I’ll leave that to our commenters to debate.
Editor’s Note: President Trump is leading America into the “Golden Age” as Democrats try desperately to stop it.
Please help us continue to report on President Trump’s successes. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
