Hegseth’s Public Threats Undermine Trump’s Retaliatory Probe Into Democratic Senator, Sparking Backlash and Legal Doubts

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Fox News alumnus elevated by President Donald J. Trump to oversee a sweeping purge of the Pentagon’s upper echelons, stumbled into a self-inflicted crisis on Friday, as his aggressive social media threats against Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., appeared to torpedo the viability of a potential court-martial against the retired Navy captain. What began as a White House-orchestrated bid to punish Democratic lawmakers for a video reminding service members of their duty to disobey illegal orders has collapsed into a spectacle of procedural blunders and bipartisan condemnation, with legal experts decrying the move as a textbook case of prosecutorial sabotage. Mr. Trump, ensconced at Mar-a-Lago for the holiday weekend, lashed out on Truth Social, calling the fallout “FAKE NEWS LAWFARE,” but the episode has exposed the raw edges of his promised “revenge plot,” leaving G.O.P. allies scrambling to contain the damage amid mounting scrutiny of Mr. Hegseth’s fitness for command.

The unraveling traces to a 90-second video released Nov. 18 by six Democratic congressional veterans, including Mr. Kelly, a decorated combat pilot and astronaut whose wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords, survived an assassination attempt in 2011. Titled “Don’t Give Up the Ship,” the clip invoked a War of 1812 rallying cry while underscoring a bedrock principle of the Uniform Code of Military Justice: the obligation to reject unlawful directives. “The American people need you to stand up for our laws and our Constitution,” the lawmakers said, speaking against a backdrop of reports on extralegal U.S. strikes in the Caribbean targeting suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers — operations Mr. Trump has touted as victories against the Tren de Aragua gang but which human rights groups have assailed as potential war crimes.

Mr. Trump, who has vowed a second-term reckoning against “deep state” holdovers, seized on the message as seditious, posting on Truth Social: “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” He amplified a supporter’s call to “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!” Mr. Hegseth, 45, whose confirmation cleared the Senate 51-49 amid allegations of sexual misconduct and drinking on the job that he has denied, escalated the rhetoric on X the next day. Labeling the group the “Seditious Six,” he zeroed in on Mr. Kelly — the only participant still subject to recall under the U.C.M.J. due to his pension status — announcing an investigation into “serious allegations of misconduct” and warning that retirees remain bound by rules against undermining military morale.

By Friday, however, Mr. Hegseth’s bombast had backfired spectacularly. Military law experts, consulted by The New York Times, said his public accusations had likely prejudiced any prosecutorial process, rendering a court-martial untenable. “Repeatedly telegraphing guilt before an inquiry poisons the well — it screams retaliation, not impartial justice,” said Rachel VanLandingham, a former Air Force judge advocate and law professor at Southwestern Law School. “Prosecutors would recuse, and the case evaporates under due process scrutiny.” Mr. Kelly’s office preemptively filed a complaint with the Pentagon inspector general on Wednesday, branding the probe a “politically motivated influence operation” to silence dissent. “This is ridiculous,” Mr. Kelly said on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Thursday night, drawing applause from the audience. “Hegseth is totally unqualified — he just wants to please the president.”

The “slip,” as critics dubbed it, has ignited a cascade of fallout. At the Pentagon, where Mr. Hegseth has already fired three judge advocate generals and the chief of naval operations in a February purge, staff morale plummeted, with anonymous leaks to CNN revealing tense meetings where commanders questioned the legality of recent Caribbean strikes — including a second drone attack that killed survivors of an initial hit, ordered to “ensure everyone on board” perished. Adm. Alvin Holsey, head of U.S. Southern Command, offered to resign last month after clashing with Mr. Hegseth over the operations, sources said. The video’s timing, amid reports of those strikes, amplified fears that Mr. Trump and his defense chief seek to insulate the military from accountability for potentially rogue actions.

Mr. Trump’s eruption came midday Friday, a 400-word Truth Social thread viewed over 18 million times: “Crooked Kelly and his radical pals think they can undermine our GREAT Military? WRONG! Hegseth is a WARRIOR — the Deep State Media is EXPLODING the plot because they know we’re WINNING!” Yet privately, White House aides expressed alarm at the optics. Mr. Hegseth’s tenure, marked by a leaked memo revealing unsecured Signal chats sharing classified plans with family members, has drawn cybersecurity probes and whispers of a short leash. “Pete’s loyalty is his superpower — and his kryptonite,” one defense official said, speaking anonymously. Mr. Trump, who solicited input from allies like Sens. Lindsey Graham and Tom Cotton, has defended him but hinted at frustration in recent calls.

The political tremors reached Capitol Hill, where Democrats framed the fiasco as exhibit A in Mr. Trump’s authoritarian playbook. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., scheduled a Dec. 5 hearing on “weaponizing the U.C.M.J. for partisan revenge,” subpoenaing Mr. Hegseth for testimony. House Oversight Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., joined Mr. Kelly in a bipartisan letter with Sen. Susan Collins, R-Me., condemning the threats as “an assault on constitutional oaths.” Even G.O.P. hawks recoiled: Mr. Graham, on Fox News, urged “cooler heads,” saying, “We crush enemies abroad, not at home.” Mr. Cotton, a Trump confidant, stayed silent, but his office confirmed he would skip a planned Pentagon briefing.

Veterans’ groups amplified the outcry. The American Legion and V.F.W. issued joint statements backing the Democrats, warning that Mr. Trump’s rhetoric — echoed in a recent Quantico address where he and Mr. Hegseth decried “woke garbage” — risks eroding enlistment, already down 12 percent since January. On X, #HegsethSlip trended with 1.1 million mentions, blending memes of Mr. Hegseth in fatigues captioned “Mission: Self-Destruct” with clips from the lawmakers’ video.

For Mr. Hegseth, the collapse compounds a rocky start. A Princeton graduate and Army National Guard veteran, he leveraged his Fox perch — railing against “woke” policies — into the cabinet post, but his confirmation hinged on a $50,000 hush-money payment to a 2017 assault accuser, which his lawyer called “blackmail.” Recent gaffes, like a wardrobe spat during Ukraine talks where Mr. Trump sidelined him, have fueled doubts. “He’s a showman, not a strategist,” a former colleague said.

Mr. Kelly, 61, has only burnished his stature. The senator, facing re-election in 2028, held a Phoenix town hall Friday, drawing 2,500 chanting “Don’t give up the ship!” He tied the probe to broader concerns, including Mr. Hegseth’s push for looser rules of engagement in the Indo-Pacific to deter China. “This isn’t about me — it’s about ensuring our troops follow the law, not a politician’s vendetta,” he said.

As Thanksgiving lingered into a fraught weekend, the revenge plot’s exposure stands as a cautionary dispatch from Mr. Trump’s retribution era. Historians liken it to Nixon’s enemies list, but turbocharged by social media. “Hegseth’s slip didn’t just collapse the case — it collapsed the illusion of invincibility,” said Julian Zelizer, a Princeton historian. With midterms looming and the military brass restive, the Pentagon’s meltdown may signal deeper fractures: In a commander in chief’s war on foes, even allies can become collateral. For Mr. Trump, the lesson is stark — plots exposed don’t just fail; they boomerang.