Steve Bannon urged Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to “stop messing around” and recall Sen. Mark Kelly (R-AZ) to active military duty and court martial him.
On Wednesday on his WarRoom podcast, Bannon argued Hegseth ordering a review of Kelly over “potentially unlawful conduct” is not enough.
“We’ve got to stop messing around! Kelly’s got to be recalled. We don’t need to wait until 10, December, Pete,” Bannon said. “It’s pretty obvious what [Kelly] did. Just recall him back to active duty and let’s convene a court martial. Let’s roll.”
Hegseth this week that the Navy secretary review Kelly’s comments in a recent video featuring him and other Democratic lawmakers for “potentially unlawful conduct.” Hegseth is set to be briefed on the review no later than December 10. That deadline, Bannon argued, is “way too long.”
“Do it today,” he said. “We don’t need the secretary of the Navy involved. The secretary of war should just do it.”
Bannon recommended recalling Kelly to active duty (something that can be done for a court martial, but it is rare) today and convening a court martial that sits as soon as Monday.
Kelly, a Navy veteran, was featured in a video with other Democratic lawmakers who are either military or intelligence community veterans. The video is addressed to people currently in the military and intelligence fields, urging them to refuse unlawful orders. The lawmakers also warn of threats to the Constitution within the United States.
President Donald Trump was less than thrilled with the video, taking to Truth Social to recommend the lawmakers be jailed and put on trial for “seditious behavior.” In one post, he also wrote that such behavior is “punishable by death.”
Kelly has pushed back on the administration and insisted he said nothing wrong or inflammatory in the video. He accused the administration of trying to “intimidate” him and others by having the FBI interview all of them.
The senator has also expressed concerns about his family’s safety since the president’s Truth Social posts. Kelly’s wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ), was the victim of an assassination attempt in 2011.
