更新于：2026年2月3日 / 美国东部时间下午6:41 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
周二，联邦法官对五角大楼试图降低亚利桑那州民主党参议员马克·凯利（Mark Kelly）薪资和军衔的做法表示怀疑，此前他公开敦促军人不要服从非法军事命令。
凯利是一名退役海军舰长，他于1月初起诉国防部长彼得·赫格斯泰特（Pete Hegseth），称自己因一段视频遭到特朗普政府的”极端言论和惩罚性报复”。在这段视频中，他与其他五名民主党议员敦促军方成员”拒绝非法命令”。
11月视频发布后，赫格斯泰特于1月初向凯利发出谴责信，称参议员的公开批评破坏了指挥链，在军队中煽动不服从，并表现出不符合军官身份的行为。海军随后跟进一封信，称将重新评估其退休军衔。
在周二的45分钟法庭听证会上，美国地区法官理查德·利昂（Richard Leon）对司法部的论点表示担忧，即通常对现役军官施加以促进纪律和服从的言论限制，正被扩大适用于凯利这样的退役军人。
“这从未有过先例，”利昂告诉司法部律师约翰·贝利（John Bailey），并补充说政府没有一个案例支持这一论点。
“你要求我做最高法院从未做过的事情，”利昂说，”这有点牵强，不是吗？”
凯利的法律团队包括新泽西州前美国检察官以及其他来自司法部的资深前官员，他们表示，五角大楼的行为是试图压制其宪法第一修正案言论自由权利的非法企图。
“这里明显存在第一修正案权利侵犯，”凯利的律师之一本·迈泽（Ben Mizer）在周二的口头辩论中表示。他补充说，政府的行为不仅侵犯了凯利的权利，还”有 chilling 该国所有退休老兵言论的风险”。
凯利的律师还分别辩称，作为国会议员，根据宪法的言论和辩论条款，他免受针对其立法活动的刑事起诉或民事诉讼。
司法部周二告诉利昂，凯利没有资格向联邦法院申请救济，因为他未能通过军事法庭用尽行政上诉，而且对他采取的行动尚未最终确定。
然而，迈泽说，根据赫格斯泰特自己的言论，很明显他对凯利表现出偏见。
“赫格斯泰特部长……表现出偏见，他不是一个思想开放的决策者，”他告诉利昂。
利昂表示希望在2月11日前就该问题做出裁决，以便各方有时间提出上诉。
周二，凯利在法院外对记者表示，他感谢”法官对这个案件的迅速和仔细考虑，考虑到这里的利害关系”。
他补充说，他相信自己有宪法支持。
凯利是去年视频中出现的六名民主党国会议员之一。
该视频发布之际，特朗普政府正面临对其针对毒船军事打击的巨大压力，法律专家和国会民主党人表示，这些打击构成了非法法外处决。
此后，司法部已向参与该视频的其他五名民主党议员发出调查请求。作为对司法部调查的回应，议员们指责特朗普政府试图压制和恐吓他们。
Judge skeptical of Pentagon’s efforts to punish Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly over “illegal orders” video
Updated on: February 3, 2026 / 6:41 PM EST / CBS News
A federal judge on Tuesday expressed skepticism over the Pentagon’s effort to downgrade the pay and rank of Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona after he publicly urged service members not to follow unlawful military orders.
Kelly, a retired Navy captain, previously sued Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in mid-January, saying he is the target of “extreme rhetoric and punitive retribution” by the Trump administration over a video in which he and five other Democratic lawmakers urged members of the military to “refuse illegal orders.”
Following the video’s release in November, Kelly received a censure letter in early January from Hegseth which claimed the senator’s public criticism undermined the chain of command, counseled disobedience among the ranks and represented conduct unbecoming of an officer. The Navy later followed up with a letter saying his retirement pay grade would be re-evaluated.
In a 45-minute court hearing on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon appeared concerned by the Justice Department’s arguments that the speech limitations customarily imposed on active-duty military officers to promote discipline and obedience was being extended to include retired service members like Kelly.
“That’s never been done,” Leon told Justice Department attorney John Bailey, adding that the government did not have a single case to support the argument.
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“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?”
Kelly’s legal team, which includes the former U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey as well as other prominent former senior officials from the Justice Department, say that the Pentagon’s actions are an unlawful attempt to stifle his First Amendment right to free speech.
“There is a clear First Amendment violation here,” said Ben Mizer, one of Kelly’s attorneys, during oral arguments on Tuesday. He added that the government’s actions not only infringe on Kelly’s rights but also run “the risk of chilling the speech of every retired veteran in this country.”
Kelly’s lawyers also separately argue that, as a member of Congress, he is immune from criminal prosecution or civil lawsuits targeting his legislative activity under the Constitution’s Speech and Debate clause.
The Justice Department on Tuesday told Leon that Kelly is not eligible to petition the federal court for relief because he has failed to exhaust his administrative appeals through the military tribunals and that the actions taken against him are not final.
Mizer, however, said that it was clear based on Hegseth’s own words that he has expressed bias towards Kelly.
“Secretary Hegseth has … demonstrated bias, and he is not a decision-maker who has kept an open mind,” he told Leon.
Leon said he hopes to rule on the issue by Feb. 11 in order to give the parties time to appeal.
Kelly, speaking to reporters outside the courthouse on Tuesday, said he appreciates “the judge’s quick and careful consideration in this case given what is at stake here.”
He added that he believes he has the Constitution on his side.
Kelly is one of six congressional Democrats who appeared together in the video last year.
The video came as the Trump administration was facing intense pressure over its military strikes against drug vessels, with legal experts and congressional Democrats saying the strikes amounted to unlawful extrajudicial killings.
The Justice Department has since sent inquiries to the five other congressional Democrats who participated in the video. In response to the Justice Department probe, the lawmakers have accused the Trump administration of trying to silence and intimidate them.