Mark Kelly blasts Trump’s DOJ as it reportedly sets up for a second indictment against him, and this is after the Grand Jury discarded the case

Senator Mark Kelly’s legal team just sent a fierce warning to the Department of Justice against pursuing a second indictment, labeling the entire effort a “remarkable abuse of power,” as reported by The Hill. This move by the DOJ is pretty concerning, especially since a grand jury already took a look at the facts and decided not to indict the Arizona lawmaker just last week.

Kelly’s attorney, Paul Fishman, sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, urging them to drop the matter completely. Fishman stressed that pursuing a subsequent indictment “would be a remarkable abuse of the Department’s power.” He made it clear that the defense team believes the prosecution lacks any standing, continuing, “There has never been any factual or legal basis for such an investigation or prosecution.”

The whole situation stems from a video Kelly participated in alongside five other elected officials who are also Democrats. The video urged military personnel not to follow any orders they considered “illegal orders.“

Kelly and his team have a strong legal argument based on free speech protections, which makes the DOJ’s continued pressure even more baffling

President Trump certainly didn’t take kindly to the clip. He publicly called those featured in the video “traitors” and accused them of dangerous “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR” that he suggested could be punishable by death. That kind of rhetoric sets a deeply aggressive tone for any subsequent DOJ action, which is awful for democratic norms.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon already blocked the Pentagon’s attempts to punish the senator by censuring him or lowering his retirement rank because of the video. Kelly’s legal team has maintained that his comments are protected by the First Amendment, a position that Judge Leon previously upheld.

Fishman stressed that the District Court’s logic protecting Kelly’s speech applies even more strongly when the government is trying to hit him with criminal prosecution. He hammered home the point that the speech cannot legally be the basis for a criminal charge. Fishman stated, “Because Senator Kelly’s speech is protected by the First Amendment, it cannot be the basis for a criminal charge. And a grand jury properly instructed on the law could not conceivably conclude otherwise.”

Kelly clarified the severity of the situation during a press conference. He said, “This did not happen in Russia or China. In Russia and China, we see these things.” He called it a foundational threat, saying, “This is the master alarm flashing for our democracy. It is threatening the very foundation of our system that we have a right to free speech to lawfully speak out and protest our government without fear of retaliation.”