Judge blocks Pentagon from downgrading Sen. Mark Kelly's military rank, pay

A national justice connected Thursday blocked the Pentagon from downgrading the subject status fertile and wage of Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, uncovering that the authorities had "trampled connected Senator Kelly's First Amendment freedoms."

A retired Navy captain, Kelly drew the Trump administration's ire aft helium and 5 different Democratic lawmakers posted a video urging members of the subject to "refuse amerciable orders."

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon's order prohibits the Defense Department and the Trump medication from taking immoderate adverse enactment against Kelly to trim his status fertile and pay.

"This Court has each it needs to reason that Defendants person trampled connected Senator Kelly's First Amendment freedoms and threatened the law liberties of millions of subject retirees," Leon wrote. "After all, arsenic Bob Dylan famously said, 'You don't request a weatherman to cognize which mode the upwind blows.'"

Leon's ruling comes a period aft Kelly sued Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, arguing that helium was the people of "extreme rhetoric and punitive retribution" by the Trump administration. 

Kelly asked Leon to acceptable speech Hegseth's recent moves to demote him and chopped his subject pension, and to artifact the enforcement of immoderate punishment against him.

Leon's determination came 2 days aft national prosecutors successful U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's bureau failed to unafraid an indictment against Kelly and the different Democratic lawmakers who appeared successful the video. Prosecutors had hoped to complaint them with violating a national instrumentality that makes it a transgression to counsel oregon origin "insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, oregon reversal of duty" by subject members, sources antecedently told CBS News.

Kelly and his colleagues came nether fierce criticism by the Trump medication aft they posted the video successful November. The video was published amid the military buildup astir Venezuela and strikes against alleged cause boats. The different 5 Democrats were besides either subject veterans oregon members of the quality community, but they person not faced immoderate adverse enactment from the Defense Department due to the fact that they bash not gully status wage from the U.S. military. 

Soon aft the video was published, President Trump and Hegseth lambasted the lawmakers for the comments, with the president claiming that their statements amounted to "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!"

Hegseth claimed Kelly's statements "undermined the concatenation of command" and constituted "conduct unbecoming an officer." The Pentagon announced it was conducting a reappraisal of misconduct allegations against Kelly to find whether helium should beryllium recalled to progressive work to look court-martial proceedings.

The Defense Department said successful December it was escalating its review into a bid investigation. Hegseth past announced that the Pentagon had "initiated status people determination proceedings" that could effect successful a "reduction successful his retired grade" and "a corresponding simplification successful retired pay." Hegseth besides said helium issued a ceremonial missive to censure Kelly, citing his "reckless misconduct."

In a statement, Kelly said Leon's bid "made wide that Pete Hegseth violated the constitution erstwhile helium tried to punish maine for thing I said. But this lawsuit was ne'er conscionable astir me. This medication was sending a connection to millions of retired veterans that they excessively tin beryllium censured oregon demoted conscionable for speaking out. That's wherefore I couldn't fto it stand."

"I besides cognize that this mightiness not beryllium implicit yet, due to the fact that this President and this medication bash not cognize however to admit erstwhile they're wrong," Kelly continued. "One happening is for sure: nevertheless hard the Trump medication whitethorn combat to punish maine and soundlessness others, I volition combat 10 times harder. This is excessively important."

CBS News has reached retired to the Defense Department and Justice Department for comment.

At a caller tribunal hearing, Leon grilled the Justice Department and expressed beardown reservations astir the Pentagon's efforts. Active-duty subject officers typically look limitations connected their close to escaped code to beforehand subject and obedience, but the subject is present seeking to widen those limits to retired work members similar Kelly.

"That's ne'er been done," Leon told Justice Department lawyer John Bailey during the Feb. 3 hearing, adding that the authorities did not person a azygous lawsuit to enactment the argument.

"You're asking maine to bash thing that the Supreme Court has ne'er done," Leon said. "That's a spot of a stretch, is it not?"

In his ruling connected Thursday, Leon reiterated those concerns again.

"Secretary Hegseth relies connected the well-established doctrine that military 

servicemembers bask little vigorous First Amendment protections fixed the cardinal work for obedience and subject successful the equipped forces," Leon wrote.

"Unfortunately for Secretary Hegseth, nary tribunal has ever extended those principles to retired servicemembers, overmuch little a retired servicemember serving successful Congress and exercising oversight work implicit the military. This Court volition not beryllium the archetypal to bash so!"

Eleanor Watson contributed to this report.