DOJ fails to secure indictments for Democratic members of Congress in military video case
The U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, DC failed to secure an indictment against six Democratic members of Congress who made a video last fall telling service members they could refuse illegal orders, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
The members, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, Sen. Mark Kelly, Rep. Maggie Goodlander, Rep. Jason Crow, Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, and Rep. Chris DeLuzio posted a video to social media saying that as former members of the military and intelligence community, current members should refuse illegal orders, if they are given.
"This is an outrageous abuse of power by Donald Trump and his lackies. It wasn’t enough for Pete Hegseth to censure me and threaten to demote me, now it appears they tried to have me charged with a crime — all because of something I said that they didn’t like. That’s not the way things work in America,” Kelly posted on X. "Donald Trump wants every American to be too scared to speak out against him. The most patriotic thing any of us can do is not back down.”
Slotkin railed against DC U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.
"Pirro did this at the direction of President Trump, who said repeatedly that I should be investigated, arrested, and hanged for sedition,” she said in a post on X. "Today, it was a grand jury of anonymous American citizens who upheld the rule of law and determined this case should not proceed. Hopefully, this ends this politicized investigation for good.
It is exceedingly rare for a grand jury to not indict after prosecutors have made their presentation. A vote of no true bill is when a grand jury decides against handing up an indictment.
A Justice Department spokesperson did not return ABC News request for comment.
The video sparked a firestorm when it was posted late last year and a war of words between Kelly and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Last month, Hegseth censured Kelly, who retired after serving more than 20 years in the Navy -- an action that was set to result in a reduction in rank and retirement pay.
The administration argued that the message the members of Congress recorded presented a danger to the troops.
"When viewed in totality, your pattern of conduct demonstrates specific intent to counsel servicemembers to refuse lawful orders. This pattern demonstrates that you were not providing abstract legal education about the duty to refuse patently illegal orders. You were specifically counseling servicemembers to refuse particular operations that you have characterized as illegal," read Kelly's censure letter.
