Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told an audience in a previously unreported 2016 video that the US military “won’t follow unlawful orders from their commander in chief,” and described the refusal of illegal commands as a part of the military’s ethos and standards — a message he now condemns Democrats for spreading.
Hegseth has spent the past week denouncing six Democratic lawmakers for urging US service members to disobey illegal orders, branding the group the “Seditious Six.” Hegseth accused them of spreading “despicable, reckless, and false” information and ordered a Pentagon investigation into one of them, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, a retired Navy captain.
The Democrats’ video message came as Hegseth and the White House have faced increasing scrutiny about deadly US military strikes on suspected drug vessels in the Caribbean and the Pacific that some lawmakers from both parties said may have crossed legal lines.
Video from 2016 shows Hegseth speaking about military’s obligation to reject orders that violate the law
Video from 2016 shows Hegseth speaking about military’s obligation to reject orders that violate the law
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Both President Trump and Hegseth on Tuesday said they were not aware of a second strike on a suspected drug vessel in the Caribbean in September. Hegseth said he “did not personally see survivors” on the boat before the second strike and that he supported Adm. Frank M. “Mitch” Bradley, commander of the US Special Operations Command, who gave the order for the second strike, according to the White House.
Yet Hegseth himself spoke candidly about the military’s obligation to reject orders that violate the law in the April 2016 comments, recorded at an event hosted by the Liberty Forum of Silicon Valley.
A Fox News contributor who at the time had just left a conservative veterans group, Hegseth was asked to comment about soldiers imprisoned for war crimes. He plainly stated there are costs for illegal actions.
“I do think there have to be consequences for abject war crimes. If you’re doing something that is just completely unlawful and ruthless, then there is a consequence for that,” Hegseth said. “That’s why the military said it won’t follow unlawful orders from their commander in chief. There’s a standard, there’s an ethos. There’s a belief that we are above what so many things that our enemies or others would do.”
In his comments to the group, Hegseth spoke critically of then-President Barack Obama, denouncing the administration’s foreign policy decisions and military rules of engagement, which he argued had weakened US military readiness and morale. Hegseth said he had often heard from veterans not wanting their children to join under Obama.
“I still want to believe and hope that there are plenty of Americans who understand what this country represents, that are willing to put their lives on the line, and families that understand the importance of that to encourage their son or daughter,” he added. “I just hope we get a commander in chief befitting of that loyalty.”
Kingsley Wilson, a spokesperson for the Pentagon, told CNN in a statement, “As Secretary Hegseth said last week and prior to holding office, the military already has clear procedures for handling unlawful orders. The orders being given to our military under President Trump are lawful, and the despicable video of the ‘Seditious Six’ urging our troops to defy their chain-of-command was a politically motivated influence operation by elected officials aimed at sowing distrust and chaos in our Armed Forces.”
In a statement to CNN, Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, said Hegseth’s position has been consistent and accused the Democrats of endangering the military with their video.
Sen. Kaine on Hegseth: ‘Real leaders don’t push off responsibility on to their subordinates’
Sen. Kaine on Hegseth: ‘Real leaders don’t push off responsibility on to their subordinates’
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“These lawmakers sowed doubt in a clear chain of command, which is reckless, dangerous, and deeply irresponsible for an elected official,” Kelly said. “It’s asinine that CNN cares more about the Secretary’s uncontroversial remarks than those of elected officials who are putting military servicemembers in harm’s way by telling them to disobey their Commander-in-Chief.”
The video released last month by Democrats include comments from Sens. Kelly and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, and Reps. Jason Crow, Chrissy Houlahan, Maggie Goodlander and Chris Deluzio — all veterans or former national security officials.
Their two-minute message warned that “threats to our Constitution” are coming “from right here at home” and reminded troops and intelligence personnel that they have a legal duty to reject unlawful orders.
“No one has to carry out orders that violate the law, or our Constitution,” they said. “Know that we have your back… don’t give up the ship.”
Although the lawmakers did not identify any specific orders they believed were illegal, the Democrats released the video message amid a growing debate over the legality of US military strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific and the deployment of active-duty troops to American cities over objections from governors.
Hegseth said the lawmakers’ message was a “politically-motivated influence operation” that “created ambiguity rather than clarity” around established legal processes, and argued that their warning to troops “undermines trust, creates hesitation in the chain of command, and erodes cohesion.”
Reports that the military carried out a second strike on a boat only heightened the controversy surrounding the administration’s decision to use military force to combat drug smuggling. For months, Democratic lawmakers have pressed the administration for the legal justification for such strikes.
In response, the administration has claimed the boats are carrying individuals linked to roughly two dozen drug cartels it says are engaged in an armed conflict with the US. The White House has said repeatedly that the administration’s actions “comply fully with the Law of Armed Conflict,” the area of international law that is designed to prevent attacks on civilians.
Many legal experts, however, say the suspected drug traffickers are civilians, not combatants, and that the strikes therefore amount to extrajudicial killings.
CNN previously reported that people briefed on the “double-tap” strike said they were concerned that it could violate the law of armed conflict, which prohibits the execution of an enemy combatant who is taken out of the fight due to injury or surrender.
Rep. Mike Turner, an Ohio Republican who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, said the follow-up strike was “completely outside of anything that has been discussed with Congress” about the Trump administration’s strikes on alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean.
“Obviously, if that occurred, that would be very serious, and I agree that that would be an illegal act,” he said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, told CBS that the attack “rises to the level of a war crime if it’s true.”
Hegseth has ordered a Pentagon review of Sen. Kelly over his participation in the video, citing the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which allows certain retired officers to be recalled for disciplinary action. The move is largely unprecedented, and some critics have described it as an effort to punish a political opponent for repeating a long-established principle of military law.
The Uniform Code of Military Justice requires service members to obey lawful orders but also imposes a duty to refuse commands that are patently illegal, a standard taught in the military for decades.
