FBI Asks to Interview 6 Lawmakers Over Video

The FBI has asked to interview six Democratic lawmakers who told military personnel that they must refuse illegal orders. The lawmakers confirmed the FBI request to the Washington Post on Tuesday. The FBI request to schedule interviews comes after the Pentagon threatened to recall Sen. Mark Kelly to active duty, possibly to face military charges over what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called "seditious" social media activity, reports Reuters. The lawmakers—Kelly, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, and Reps. Jason Crow, Maggie Goodlander, Chris Deluzio, and Chrissy Houlahan—are all veterans of the armed services and intelligence community, the AP reports. They released a video last week urging troops to "stand up for our laws."

"Last night, the FBI's Counterterrorism Division appeared to open an inquiry into me in response to a video President Trump did not like," Sen. Elissa Slotkin said in a post on X Tuesday. "The President directing the FBI to target us is exactly why we made this video in the first place. He believes in weaponizing the federal government against his perceived enemies and does not believe laws apply to him or his Cabinet." She told reporters: "Whether you agree with the video or don't agree with the video, the question to me is: is this the appropriate response for a president of the United States to go after and seek to weaponize the federal government against those he disagrees with?"

A Justice Department official speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity said the purpose of the interviews is to determine "if there's any wrongdoing and then go from there." The FBI hasn't commented publicly. The New York Times reports that legal experts " dismissed the investigations as a transparent attempt to seek vengeance with no grounding in the law." The Times notes that troops are told during training that they have a duty to refuse illegal commands.

Kelly dismissed Hegseth's court-martial threat Tuesday as "almost comical." In a post on X, the defense secretary, referring to an image Kelly posted in an earlier response to the threat, accused the former astronaut of displaying his medals incorrectly, saying, "When/if you are recalled to active duty, it'll start with a uniform inspection." Hegseth later shared an image of a Pentagon memo ordering the secretary of the Navy to investigate Kelly over "potentially unlawful comments." The Guardian notes that Navy secretary John Phelan is a Trump donor who had no prior military experience when he was appointed this year.