周二，一名联邦法官尖锐地质问司法部律师，国防部试图阻止恐怖主义是否有法律先例惩罚民主党参议员马克·凯利，经常批评唐纳德·特朗普总统。
凯利是一名退休的海军上尉和前宇航员，他正在寻求针对五角大楼的禁令，因为五角大楼威胁要降低他的军衔并减少他的军事退休福利，因为他与其他曾在军队或国家安全部门任职的民主党国会议员一起制作了一段视频，敦促军队不要遵守非法命令。
在一场闭门听证会上，被乔治·w·布什总统提名为华盛顿特区地方法院法官的理查德·j·莱昂(Richard J. Leon)向特朗普政府的法律团队施压，询问政府是否有权采取这样的行动。
“你在要求我做最高法院或DC巡回法院从未做过的事情，”莱昂对一名为五角大楼的努力辩护的司法部律师说。
莱昂说他是目标是在2月11日之前对凯利的初步禁令请求做出决定。
作为对退伍军人第一修正案权利和政府分权的一次重大考验，该案件引起了相当大的关注。
国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯指责凯利违反了禁止破坏军队内部良好秩序和纪律的联邦法律，并指责他躲在美国参议员的职位后面这样做。
“很多事情都岌岌可危，”凯利在听证会后告诉记者。“我穿军装是为了保卫这个国家，保卫宪法。海格塞斯部长指责了我，现在正试图因为我说的话和我作为美国参议员的工作而给我降级。”
“本届政府一再追求许多美国人的第一修正案权利。这不是我们在美国做事的方式。我想人们明白这一点。这就是为什么这个案子很重要，在这个案子里，我们有宪法在我们这边。”
特朗普在11月份发布了视频中出现的民主党议员可能会被起诉为叛徒。
“他们的话不能被允许。叛徒的煽动行为!!!把他们关起来???”，特朗普在11月20日写道民主党视频的发布针对服役人员。
在视频中，凯利和其他民主党人没有提供他们所指的具体订单。当时，五角大楼正在监督加勒比海和东太平洋的一次军事行动，这次行动杀死了至少126名毒品走私嫌疑人。法律专家普遍质疑动用军队杀死被指控的毒贩，而不是在联邦法院起诉他们。
在法庭文件中，特朗普政府的律师所谓的凯利因为退役军官的身份，他没有和平民一样的言论自由权。司法部还指出，参议员还没有用尽他的行政选择。
“这个案件与公民社会的立法独立或言论自由无关。相反，这一案件涉及一名退休军官，他试图利用自己的军人身份作为一把剑，利用自己的立法地位作为盾牌，对抗自己在军事人事问题上的行动后果，”司法部律师代表海格塞斯写道。
在参与视频的民主党人中，凯利是唯一一名达到现役退休年龄的退役军人，要求服役满20年。凯利，在沙漠风暴行动中执行战斗任务在伊拉克，他仍然从赫格塞斯监管的国防部获得福利。
“皮特·赫格塞斯(Pete Hegseth)对我的违宪讨伐向每一位退役军人发出了一个令人不寒而栗的信息:如果你大声说出总统、国防部长不喜欢的话。你将受到谴责、降级威胁，甚至被起诉，”凯利在1月12日的参议院发言中说道。
Judge presses DOJ lawyers for a precedent for Pentagon to punish Sen. Mark Kelly over video
A federal judge on Tuesday sharply questioned Justice Department lawyers whether there was a legal precedent for the Defense Department's attempt topunish Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump.
Kelly, a retired Navy captain and former astronaut, is seeking an injunction against the Pentagon for threatening to demote him in rank and reduce his military retirement benefits because of a video he made with other Democratic members of Congress who had served in the military or national security that urged troops not to comply with illegal orders.
In a closed-courtroom hearing, Judge Richard J. Leon, who was nominated to the D.C. District Court by President George W. Bush, pressed the Trump administration's legal team on whether the government had the power to take such action.
“You’re asking me to do something the Supreme Court or the DC Circuit has never done,” Leon told a Justice Department lawyer defending the Pentagon’s efforts.
Leon saidhe isaiming to make a decision on Kelly's request for a preliminary injunction by Feb. 11.
The case has drawn considerable attention as a major test of the First Amendment rights of military veterans and the government's separation of powers.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accused Kelly of violating a federal law that prohibits undermining good order and discipline within the military and accused him of hiding behind his position as a U.S. senator to do so.
Hegseth censures Sen. Mark Kelly over video about unlawful orders
"A lot is at stake," Kelly told reporters after the hearing. "I wore the uniform to defend this country, to defend the Constitution. Secretary Hegseth censured me and is now trying to demote me for things that I said and for doing my job as a United States senator."
"This administration has repeatedly gone after First Amendment rights of many Americans. That's not how we do things here in the United States. I think folks understand that. That's why this case is important, and in this case, we have the Constitution on our side."
Trump in November posted the Democratic lawmakers who appeared in the video could be prosecuted as traitors.
"Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???," Trump wrote on Nov. 20 following therelease of the Democrats' videoaimed at service members.
In the video, Kelly and the other Democrats did not provide specifics on what orders they were referencing. At the time, the Pentagon was overseeing a military campaign in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean that killed at least 126 suspected drug smugglers. Legal experts have widely questioned the use of the military to kill the alleged drug traffickers, rather than prosecute them in federal courts.
In court documents, lawyers for the Trump administrationalleged Kellydoesn't have the same right to free speech as civilians because of his status as a retired officer. The Justice Department also noted that the senator hasn't exhausted his administrative options yet.
"This case is not about legislative independence or freedom of speech in civilian society. Instead, this case involves a retired military officer who seeks to use his military status as a sword and his legislative position as a shield against the consequences of his actions in military personnel matters," the Justice Department lawyers wrote on Hegseth's behalf.
Among the Democrats who participated in the video,Kellyis the only former service member to reach active-duty retirement, which requires 20 years of service. Kelly, who flew combat missions during Operation Desert Stormin Iraq, still receives benefits from the Defense Department, which Hegseth oversees.
"Pete Hegseth's unconstitutional crusade against me sends a chilling message to every retired member of the military: if you speak out and say something that the President, the Secretary of Defense doesn't like. You will be censured, threatened with demotion, or even prosecuted,"Kellysaid in a Jan. 12 Senate floor speech.
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