Appeals court also seems skeptical of DOJ case arguing Sen Kelly's comments are 'seditious'

A three-judge appeals panel of the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Thursday had serious questions for the Trump administration lawyers concerning their reasoning for seeking to punish Sen. Mark Kelly over video he made that told U.S. troops to disobey orders. 

Kelly, a Navy veteran and former astronaut, released a video last November that accused the Trump administration of "pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community against American citizens," Politico reported. In the video, Kelly told troops to "refuse illegal orders" without pointing to any specific actions President Donald Trump has taken that were illegal. 

After the video was released, the Pentagon launched an investigation. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth called the video "seditious." Hegseth promised in February to appeal a federal judge's recent decision to block him from punishing Kelly, arguing that it amounts to a violation of the Democratic senator's First Amendment right to free speech. 

The judges on Thursday appeared unlikely to stray from that ruling, according to Politico, and questioned whether Kelly was sending mixed messages to troops when he made the video. Judge Cornelia Pillard, an Obama appointee, said that Kelly appears to advise troops they have no obligation to obey unlawful orders, as opposed to telling them to ignore orders that are illegal. 

Kelly has said he'll "seriously consider" running for president in 2028. His case has shot him into the spotlight as a top opponent of the Trump administration, and he's raised over $25 million in the last six months, even though he's not ony any ballot this year.