DOJ tries and fails to indict 6 Democrats over video reminding military of illegal orders

Federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., sought to bring charges against six Democrats for reminding U.S. military and intelligence service members via a video that they are obligated to refuse illegal orders.

Prosecutors from the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington — led by staunch Trump loyalist and former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro — tried Tuesday to indict the lawmakers for violating a statute that forbids interference with the loyalty, morale or discipline of the U.S. armed forces, according to multiple media outlets.

The effort failed after a grand jury refused to approve the charges. Dubbed a “no true bill,” grand jury rejections are an astonishingly rare occurrence in federal criminal cases. However, they have been growing more common as President Donald Trump’s political appointees pursue increasingly outlandish criminal cases to appease the president.

The attempt to charge the lawmakers — Reps. Chris Deluzio (Pa.), Maggie Goodlander (N.H.), Chrissy Houlahan (Pa.), Jason Crow (Colo.) and Sens. Elissa Slotkin (Mich.) and Mark Kelly (Ariz.) — constituted an extraordinary attempt to politicize the criminal justice system in order to punish Trump’s political opponents over an expression of dissent.

“Today, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro attempted to persuade a Grand Jury to indict me,” Slotkin said in a statement. “Pirro did this at the direction of President Trump, who said repeatedly that I should be investigated, arrested, and hanged for sedition.”

“Today, it was a grand jury of anonymous American citizens who upheld the rule of law and determined this case should not proceed,” the Michigan U.S. senator added. “Hopefully, this ends this politicized investigation for good.”

Last November, the lawmakers, all of whom are veterans or former intelligence officers, recorded a video reminding members of the military and intelligence community that they took an oath to defend the Constitution and that they are legally required to refuse unlawful orders.

They released the video in response to ongoing fears that Trump’s political appointees have issued illegal orders in carrying out the president’s legally questionable campaign of killing people suspected of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.

The video did not name Trump, issue commands or urge disobedience to lawful authority. It reiterated long-standing military doctrine that prominent Trump officials had publicly supported before their political appointments.

“Our laws are clear,” Sen. Kelly, a Navy veteran and former astronaut, said in the video. “You can refuse illegal orders.”

However, the Trump administration swiftly responded to the video. Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff and homeland security advisor, claimed they were staging an “insurrection” against Trump.

Trump himself expressed support for imprisoning and even executing the lawmakers for what he termed “seditious behavior” — a concept that does not exist under U.S. law.

In January, months after the video was released, officials from Pirro’s office sought interviews with all of the lawmakers involved. 

The requests indicated an investigation had been opened against the lawmakers, even though Department of Justice (DOJ) policy and guidelines generally prohibit investigations from being initiated solely on activities protected by the First Amendment.

The “no true bill” against Pirro’s attempt to criminalize their speech was her office’s latest prominent rejection by a grand jury.

Last year, grand juries repeatedly refused to indict people on charges brought during Trump’s immigration crackdown and federal surge in the district. 

A jury also declined to find a former DOJ employee guilty of a misdemeanor assault charge for hurling a hoagie at a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Officer. Federal prosecutors originally sought a felony charge against the sandwich thrower, but a grand jury spurned that attempt as well.

In addition to Pirro’s office’s investigation, the FBI’s counter-terrorism division also sought interviews with the lawmakers.

For his participation in the video, Kelly separately faces potential demotion through a disciplinary proceeding initiated by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Last month, Kelly sued Hegseth, arguing that the effort violated his first amendment rights. A federal judge appears likely to rule in the senator’s favor as soon as this week.

“This is an outrageous abuse of power by Donald Trump and his lackies,” Kelly said in a statement reacting to Pirro’s attempted charges. “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.”

“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,” he added.