Democrats who told troops to disobey illegal orders push back on alleged FBI probe

A group of Democratic lawmakers who encouraged US troops to disobey any orders they deem illegal are pushing back on an alleged federal inquiry into their actions.

US Senator Elissa Slotkin, of Michigan, said the FBI had notified the six lawmakers of its investigation on Monday, after she and others appeared in a video last week, which US President Donald Trump branded "seditious".

"No amount of intimidation or harassment will ever stop us from doing our jobs and honouring our Constitution," four Democrats in the US House of Representatives said.

The Department of Justice (DoJ) and FBI have declined to comment on the reported investigation.

The Pentagon has also previously announced that it will review "serious allegations of misconduct" against Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, who appeared in the clip.

On Tuesday, Reuters reported that a DoJ official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the FBI had requested interviews with six Democratic politicians to determine "if there's any wrongdoing, and then go from there".

When Kelly was asked by NPR about the matter later that day, he said: "The sergeant at arms got something in an email. We're taking a look at it."

The sergeant at arms in each chamber of Congress acts as that chamber's chief law enforcement officer. They are tasked with maintaining congressional rules, which can include arresting lawmakers, though they have not been involved in other recent criminal investigations, such as the prosecution of Bob Menendez, a former Democratic senator.

In the NPR interview, Kelly said the president "is certainly outrageous and unpredictable. I don't think he understands the Constitution".

The video by Democrats, all of whom have served in the military or intelligence community, was shared last week by Slotkin. As well as Kelly, it features US Representatives Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander, Chrissy Houlahan and Jason Crow.

Their call to US troops to refuse orders considered to be unlawful comes amid escalating tensions between the Trump administration and the Venezuelan government, and the opposition by Democrat-led cities to Trump's deployment of National Guard troops in those places.

Slotkin said on Tuesday that the FBI's counterterrorism unit had sent a note to the lawmakers to notify them of its inquiry.

"The president's reaction and the use of the FBI against us is exactly why we made the video," she said at an event in Michigan.

"He believes in using the federal government against his perceived adversaries, and he's not afraid to use the arms of the government against people he disagrees with," she said, describing Trump's actions as "a scare tactic".

Likewise, US representatives Deluzio, Goodlander, Houlahan and Crow said that Trump was using the FBI as "tool to intimidate and harass" members of Congress.

"We swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. That oath lasts a lifetime, and we intend to keep it. We will not be bullied. We will never give up the ship," they said.

The video - in which Kelly accused the administration of "pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens" - drew Trump's ire.

"LOCK THEM UP???" Trump asked in one post on his social media platform, Truth Social, before sharing someone else's post that read: "HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!"

His postings drew bipartisan condemnation and the president ultimately clarified that he was "not threatening death".

When announcing its review into Kelly, the Pentagon accused the former US Navy captain and astronaut of breaching military law. It said it would look to determine whether the Arizona lawmaker should be recalled to active duty to face court-martial proceedings.

Even though Kelly retired from the military, he is still subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) - a federal law enacted by Congress in 1951 that subjects members of the military to a special set of rules.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth accused Kelly of violating the UCMJ and of using his rank and service affiliation as a way to lend "the appearance of authority to his words" in the video. He added that Kelly's conduct "brings discredit upon the armed forces and will be addressed appropriately".

On Tuesday, Hegseth posted an image on social media of a memo he sent to the secretary of the US Navy regarding Kelly's "potentially unlawful comments" and referring the matter for review.

Kelly has pushed back, saying that he has "given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution", and giving interviews and posting on social media about the issue.

In an interview with late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel on Tuesday, he said it "is kind of wild because we recited [in the video] something from the Uniform Code of Military Justice and he's going to prosecute me under the Uniform Code of Military Justice".

Under the code, a member of the armed services can refuse to follow "a patently illegal order, such as one that directs the commission of a crime" or one that goes against the Constitution, which service members swear to uphold when they join.

Since World War Two, many members of the US military have embraced the "duty to disobey" - refusing to carry out an order that is unlawful - and the idea is being discussed more in the civilian realm as Trump's deployments of National Guard troops to US cities face legal challenges.

While the US intelligence community does not have a code comparable to the UCMJ, a spokeswoman for the CIA reminded former officers on Tuesday of the oath they had taken and commitment they made while serving that community.

Former officers should "conduct themselves accordingly - even long after they leave", the spokeswoman, Liz Lyons, wrote on X.

Lyons said the assertion by Slotkin - a former CIA analyst - that CIA officers were receiving illegal orders and should therefore refuse to follow them "is now, by her own admission, without basis and recklessly false".