DC Circuit panel leans toward dismissing bid to sanction Mark Kelly over anti-illegal-orders video

A three-judge DC Circuit Court of Appeals panel appeared ready to reject Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s bid to punish Sen. Mark Kelly for urging service members to refuse unlawful orders, with judges highlighting the principle that veterans should be free to speak out and casting doubt on the administration’s retaliatory-punishment theory as prosecutors previously pursued but were rebuffed in indictments over the video.