2026年2月12日 / 美国东部时间下午1:10 / CBS新闻
周四，一名联邦法官阻止了五角大楼降低亚利桑那州民主党参议员马克·凯利的军事退休军衔和薪水的企图，认定政府“践踏了凯利参议员的第一修正案自由”。
作为一名退休海军上尉，凯利与其他五名民主党议员发布了一段视频，敦促军方成员“拒绝非法命令”，这引起了特朗普政府的愤怒。
美国地区法官理查德·利昂的命令禁止国防部和特朗普政府对凯利采取任何不利行动，包括降低其退休军衔和薪水。
“本法院有足够理由认定，被告践踏了凯利参议员的第一修正案自由，并威胁到数百万军事退休人员的宪法自由，”利昂写道。“毕竟，正如鲍勃·迪伦（Bob Dylan）的名言所说，‘你不需要天气预报员来告诉你风向。’”
利昂的裁决是在凯利起诉国防部长彼得·赫格塞斯一个月之后做出的，凯利称自己是特朗普政府“极端言论和惩罚性报复”的目标。
凯利要求利昂撤销赫格塞斯最近采取的将其降级并削减军事养老金的行动，并阻止对他的任何惩罚措施执行。
2026年2月3日，华盛顿，凯利参议员在法院外。 Heather Diehl / Getty Images
利昂的裁决是在联邦检察官未能对凯利和视频中出现的其他民主党议员提起诉讼后的两天。据消息人士此前向CBS新闻透露，检察官曾希望指控他们违反了一项联邦法律，即煽动或导致军人“不服从、不忠、叛乱或失职”是犯罪行为。
视频发布后不久，特朗普总统和赫格塞斯就严厉批评了这些议员，总统声称他们的言论构成“可处以死刑的叛乱行为！”
赫格塞斯声称凯利的言论“破坏了指挥链”，构成“有失军官身份的行为”。五角大楼宣布正在审查针对凯利的不当行为指控，以确定是否应将其召回现役，面临军事法庭审判。
美国国防部在12月表示，正在将对凯利的审查升级为指挥调查。赫格塞斯随后宣布，五角大楼已“启动退休军衔确定程序”，可能导致“其退休军衔被降级”以及“相应的退休薪水减少”。赫格塞斯还表示，他已发出正式信函谴责凯利，称其“鲁莽行为”。
在一份声明中，凯利表示利昂的命令“明确表明彼得·赫格塞斯试图因我所说的话而惩罚我，这违反了宪法。但这个案子从来不仅仅是关于我的。这个政府是在向数百万退休老兵传递一个信息：他们也可能因为言论而受到谴责或降级。这就是为什么我不能让它继续下去。”
“我也知道这可能还没完，因为这位总统和他的政府不知道何时承认自己错了，”凯利继续说道。“可以肯定的是：无论特朗普政府如何努力惩罚我并压制他人，我都会加倍努力反击。这太重要了。”
CBS新闻已联系国防部和司法部请求置评。
在最近的法庭听证会上，利昂严厉质问司法部，并对五角大楼的做法表示强烈保留。现役军官通常在言论自由方面受到限制，以促进纪律和服从，但军方现在正试图将这些限制扩大到像凯利这样的退休军人。
“这从未有过先例，”利昂在2月3日的听证会上对司法部律师约翰·贝利（John Bailey）说，并补充说政府没有一个案例支持这一论点。
“你让我做最高法院从未做过的事情，”利昂说。“这有点牵强，不是吗？”
在周四的裁决中，利昂再次重申了这些担忧。
“赫格塞斯部长依赖于一个公认的原则，即军人由于军队中服从和纪律的基本义务，享有的第一修正案保护力度较小，”利昂写道。
“不幸的是，没有任何法院将这些原则延伸到退休军人，更不用说在国会任职并对军方进行监督的退休军人了。本法院不会成为第一个这样做的！”
埃莉诺·沃森（Eleanor Watson）对本报道有贡献。
Judge blocks Pentagon from downgrading Sen. Mark Kelly’s military rank, pay
February 12, 2026 / 1:10 PM EST / CBS News
A federal judge on Thursday blocked the Pentagon from downgrading the military retirement rank and pay of Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, finding that the government had “trampled on Senator Kelly’s First Amendment freedoms.”
A retired Navy captain, Kelly drew the Trump administration’s ire after he and five other Democratic lawmakers posted a video urging members of the military to “refuse illegal orders.”
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon’s order prohibits the Defense Department and the Trump administration from taking any adverse action against Kelly to reduce his retirement rank and pay.
“This Court has all it needs to conclude that Defendants have trampled on Senator Kelly’s First Amendment freedoms and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees,” Leon wrote. “After all, as Bob Dylan famously said, ‘You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.’”
Leon’s ruling comes a month after Kelly sued Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, arguing that he was the target of “extreme rhetoric and punitive retribution” by the Trump administration.
Kelly asked Leon to set aside Hegseth’s recent moves to demote him and cut his military pension, and to block the enforcement of any punishment against him.
Sen. Mark Kelly outside court in Washington on Feb. 3, 2026. Heather Diehl / Getty Images
Leon’s decision came two days after federal prosecutors in U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office failed to secure an indictment against Kelly and the other Democratic lawmakers who appeared in the video. Prosecutors had hoped to charge them with violating a federal law that makes it a crime to counsel or cause “insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or reversal of duty” by military members, sources previously told CBS News.
Kelly and his colleagues came under fierce criticism by the Trump administration after they posted the video in November. The video was published amid the military buildup around Venezuela and strikes against alleged drug boats. The other five Democrats were also either military veterans or members of the intelligence community, but they have not faced any adverse action from the Defense Department because they do not draw retirement pay from the U.S. military.
Soon after the video was published, President Trump and Hegseth lambasted the lawmakers for the comments, with the president claiming that their statements amounted to “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”
Hegseth claimed Kelly’s statements “undermined the chain of command” and constituted “conduct unbecoming an officer.” The Pentagon announced it was conducting a review of misconduct allegations against Kelly to determine whether he should be recalled to active duty to face court-martial proceedings.
The Defense Department said in December it was escalating its review into a command investigation. Hegseth then announced that the Pentagon had “initiated retirement grade determination proceedings” that could result in a “reduction in his retired grade” and “a corresponding reduction in retired pay.” Hegseth also said he issued a formal letter to censure Kelly, citing his “reckless misconduct.”
In a statement, Kelly said Leon’s order “made clear that Pete Hegseth violated the constitution when he tried to punish me for something I said. But this case was never just about me. This administration was sending a message to millions of retired veterans that they too can be censured or demoted just for speaking out. That’s why I couldn’t let it stand.”
“I also know that this might not be over yet, because this President and this administration do not know how to admit when they’re wrong,” Kelly continued. “One thing is for sure: however hard the Trump administration may fight to punish me and silence others, I will fight ten times harder. This is too important.”
CBS News has reached out to the Defense Department and Justice Department for comment.
At a recent court hearing, Leon grilled the Justice Department and expressed strong reservations about the Pentagon’s efforts. Active-duty military officers typically face limitations on their right to free speech to promote discipline and obedience, but the military is now seeking to extend those limits to retired service members like Kelly.
“That’s never been done,” Leon told Justice Department attorney John Bailey during the Feb. 3 hearing, adding that the government did not have a single case to support the argument.
“You’re asking me to do something that the Supreme Court has never done,” Leon said. “That’s a bit of a stretch, is it not?”
In his ruling on Thursday, Leon reiterated those concerns again.
“Secretary Hegseth relies on the well-established doctrine that military
servicemembers enjoy less vigorous First Amendment protections given the fundamental obligation for obedience and discipline in the armed forces,” Leon wrote.
“Unfortunately for Secretary Hegseth, no court has ever extended those principles to retired servicemembers, much less a retired servicemember serving in Congress and exercising oversight responsibility over the military. This Court will not be the first to do so!”
Eleanor Watson contributed to this report.
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