民主党参议员马克·凯利周一一再表示，即使国防部上周宣布将会沉默，他也不会被唐纳德·特朗普总统和国防部长皮特·黑格斯沉默发起“彻底审查”凯利引用“不当行为的严重指控”
“我不会被这位总统吓倒。我不会被这位总统或周围的人压制住，因为我为这个国家付出了太多，不能向这个人让步，”凯利在周一下午的新闻发布会上说。
这发生在上个月凯利和其他几位民主党人之后在社交媒体上发布了一段视频他们说美国军人可以拒绝非法命令。
凯利猛烈抨击赫格塞斯，称他“不适合这个职位”，并表示赫格塞斯应该就加勒比海的船只袭击事件作证，据称在9月份授权对一艘涉嫌运送毒品的船只进行第二次袭击后，两名幸存者丧生。
白宫证实船上不止一次罢工。一位熟悉事件细节的人向美国广播公司证实，船上有最初袭击的幸存者，这些幸存者在随后的袭击中丧生。
参议院军事委员会成员凯利表示，在《华盛顿邮报》报道Hegseth发出口头命令，要用第二次袭击杀死幸存者之后，对袭击“需要进行调查”。凯利补充说，“如果有谁需要在公共场合和宣誓下回答问题，那就是皮特·赫格塞斯。”
“我希望我们听到的不是...准确。我要说的是，虽然你知道自己击沉了两艘船，但是军队里的人需要了解海洋法，日内瓦公约，法律是怎么规定的。我担心的是，事实上，如报道所说，你知道，幸存者紧紧抓住受损的船只，这可能是，你知道，越线。我希望不是这样，”凯利说。
当被问及《华盛顿邮报》的一篇报道，即黑格斯命令军方杀死船上所有涉嫌携带毒品的乘客时，白宫新闻秘书卡罗琳·莱维特说，美国特种作战司令部司令米奇·布拉德利上将下令进行第二次打击。
莱维特周一表示，“布拉德利上将在他的权力和法律范围内很好地工作，指挥了这场战斗，以确保该船被摧毁，并彻底消除了对美利坚合众国的威胁。”
当被美国广播公司新闻(ABC News)问及他在社交媒体上发布的视频是否告诉军方成员他们可以不服从非法命令是关于加勒比海的罢工时，凯利说“不是关于这件具体的事情。”
但凯利说，他希望美国人民有机会看到立法者在闭门简报中提出的罢工背后的法律论据。
作为对民主党视频的回应，特朗普在社交媒体帖子中称他们是“叛徒”面临死刑。
凯利说，总统的意图是让那些可能想反抗他的人保持沉默。
“这不是关于我，也不是关于视频中的其他人，他们试图向退休军人、政府雇员、军人、民选官员和所有想说话的美国人传达一个信息，‘你最好闭上嘴，否则，’”凯利说。
有人问凯利，如果美国联邦调查局或国防部要求他接受调查，他是否会参加。
“我会遵守法律，”他说。
凯利提到了美国的政治暴力浪潮，强调了对他的妻子、前国会女议员加贝·吉福兹的攻击，以及对特朗普本人的有针对性的攻击。他说，特朗普应该做更多的事情来冷却紧张局势，而不是加剧紧张局势。
“总统的话非常有分量。人们听他的，他知道这一点，这正是他做他所做的事情的原因，”凯利声称。
Sen. Kelly slams Trump, calls for investigation into Caribbean strikes and for Hegseth to testify
Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly on Monday repeatedly said he would not be silenced by President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth even after the Department of Defense announced last week that it would belaunching a "thorough review"of Kelly citing "serious allegations of misconduct."
"I will not be intimidated by this president. I am not going to be silenced by this president or the people around because I've given too much in service to this country to back down to this guy,"Kelly said at a news conference Monday afternoon.
It comes after Kelly and several other Democrats last monthposted a video on social mediawhere they said that U.S. service members could refuse illegal orders.
Kelly slammed Hegseth, calling him "unqualified for this position" and saying Hegseth should testify concerning the boat strikes in the Caribbean Sea where two survivors were allegedly killed after a second strike was authorized on a boat suspected of ferrying drugs in September.
The White House confirmed there was more than one strike on the boat. One person familiar with details of the incident confirmed to ABC News that there were survivors from the initial strike on the boat and that those survivors were killed in subsequent strikes.
Kelly, a member of the Senate Armed Services committee, said there "needs to be an investigation" into the strikes following reporting from the Washington Post that Hegseth issued a verbal order to kill survivors with a second strike. Kelly added that "if there is anyone who needs to answer questions in public and under oath, it is Pete Hegseth."
"I hope what we are hearing is not ... accurate. I will say, though you know as somebody who has sunk two ships myself, that folks in the military need to understand, you know, the Law of the Sea, the Geneva Conventions, what the law says. And I'm concerned that if there were, in fact, as reported, you know, survivors clinging to a damaged vessel, that that could be, you know, over a line. I hope it's not the case," Kelly said.
When asked about a Washington Post report that Hegseth ordered the military to kill all passengers aboard the boat suspected of carrying drugs, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Adm. Mitch Bradley, the head of the United States Special Operations Command, made the order for the second strike.
"Adm. Bradley worked well within his authority and the law, directing the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was completely eliminated," Leavitt said Monday.
Asked by ABC News whether the video he posted on social media telling military members that they can disobey illegal orders was about strikes in the Caribbean, Kelly said it was "not about this specific thing."
But Kelly did say that he hopes the American people are given an opportunity to see the legal argument behind the strikes that lawmakers were presented during closed-door briefings.
In response to the Democrats' video, Trump -- in social media posts -- called them "traitors" who shouldface the death penalty.
Kelly said that the president's is meant to silence individuals who may want to stand up to him.
"This isn't about me and it's not about the others in that video, they're trying to send a message to retired service members, to government employees, the members of the military, to elected officials and to all Americans who are thinking about speaking up, 'You better keep your mouth shut, or else,'" Kelly said.
Kelly was asked whether he would participate in interviews with the FBI or Defense Department if one was requested as part of an investigation.
"I will follow the law," he said.
Kelly noted the wave of political violence in America, highlighting the attack against his wife, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, and targeted attacks against the Trump himself. Trump, he said, should be doing more to cool tensions rather than inflame them.
"The president's words carry tremendous weight. People listen to him, and he knows that, and that's exactly why he does what he does," Kelly claimed.
