Kelly v Hegseth Oral Arguments - Hegseth appeal of prelim injunction - 8:30 am Central

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A federal appeals court panel appears likely to reject Pentagon plans to punish Sen. Mark Kelly for advising troops to disobey illegal orders, another potential victory for the rising Trump administration foe and likely 2028 presidential candidate.

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The three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Thursday harshly questioned administration lawyers on the rationale for the Pentagon move, signaling they are unlikely to stray from the lower court ruling that blocked Hegseth’s bid to punish Kelly and concluded it amounts to a violation of the Democratic senator’s freedom of speech.

The judges also questioned whether Hegseth’s assertion that Kelly was sending mixed messages to troops held any legal weight.

“The text of the video, which I take to be really the fulcrum of this entire case, advises that service members have no obligation to obey unlawful orders,” said Judge Cornelia Pillard, an Obama appointee. “Nobody in the video says service members have a duty to disobey lawful orders.”

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