Mark Kelly says DOJ’s attempt to indict him over military video ‘is how democracies die’
WASHINGTON, DC: Senator Mark Kelly on Friday, Feb 13, slammed the Department of Justice under Donald Trump for seeking to indict and potentially jail him and other Democratic lawmakers for openly discussing lawful military policy, calling the move a serious threat to the nation’s democratic norms.
Kelly made the remarks during an appearance on CNN’s ‘The Arena,’ responding to questions about reports that a grand jury was convened to consider charges against him after federal prosecutors examined a video in which he and colleagues urged members of the US military to follow legal orders.
Mark Kelly claims what he said was ‘lawful’
Pressed by host Kasie Hunt about whether prosecutors were actively seeking to indict him, Kelly said that the secrecy of grand juries makes it hard to know exactly what the Justice Department is doing.
Host Kasie Hunt asked, “Are they trying to indict you at a grand jury at this very moment again?”
Kelly said, “They could be. I mean, they don’t share a lot of information with us. Grand juries are secret. The last thing we heard from them was that we were not under investigation. I was not under investigation from DOJ. The next thing we hear, they went to a grand jury.”
“We said something that was lawful,” he added. “We told members of the military basically follow the law. We said something that his Secretary of Defense said repeatedly on camera in 2016, when Donald Trump was running for president, and for that he wants to jail us.”
Mark Kelly says DOJ action undermines democratic tradition
“This president tried to put me and my colleagues in prison because we said something he didn’t like,” Kelly said, accusing the Trump administration of targeting lawful political speech. “I mean, this is how democracies die when you start throwing the, who you perceive as your political opponents in and in prison.”
“And this is not but it’s not just about like me. And I’m not just concerned about, like, what’s going to happen to me. I just kind of feel like I’m the first one through the breach here,” Kelly said.
Republican lawmakers pushed back against Kelly’s claims, standing up for the Justice Department’s independence.
They say prosecutors need room to look into any possible misuse of military policy or anything that might threaten military discipline.
Kelly’s comments have stoked debate over the politicization of the Justice Department and the bounds of free speech for elected officials.
