Breaking news: How could a senator be allowed to undermine the authority of the Commander-in-Chief in a conflict?!
They were dubbed the “Seditious Six”—a half dozen lawmakers, all with prior service in the intelligence community and/or the military, who released a video on November 18 urging active-duty troops to refuse orders they personally deemed unlawful. To many observers, it looked like exactly what it was: a thinly veiled invitation to rebellion within the ranks.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth was clearly having none of it. On Monday, he dropped the hammer in a blunt social-media post, calling the video exactly what it was: “seditious” while singling out Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, a retired US Navy captain, who just found out after he effed around:
Six weeks ago, Senator Mark Kelly — and five other members of Congress — released a reckless and seditious video that was clearly intended to undermine good order and military discipline. As a retired Navy Captain who is still receiving a military pension, Captain Kelly knows he is still accountable to military justice. And the Department of War — and the American people — expect justice.
Therefore, in response to Senator Mark Kelly’s seditious statements — and his pattern of reckless misconduct — the Department of War is taking administrative action against Captain Mark E. Kelly, USN (Ret). The department has initiated retirement grade determination proceedings under 10 U.S.C. § 1370(f), with reduction in his retired grade resulting in a corresponding reduction in retired pay.
To ensure this action, the Secretary of War has also issued a formal Letter of Censure, which outlines the totality of Captain (for now) Kelly’s reckless misconduct. This Censure is a necessary process step, and will be placed in Captain Kelly’s official and permanent military personnel file.
Captain Kelly has been provided notice of the basis for this action and has thirty days to submit a response. The retirement grade determination process directed by Secretary Hegseth will be completed within forty five days.
Captain Kelly’s status as a sitting United States Senator does not exempt him from accountability, and further violations could result in further action.
These actions are based on Captain Kelly’s public statements from June through December 2025 in which he characterized lawful military operations as illegal and counseled members of the Armed Forces to refuse lawful orders. This conduct was seditious in nature and violated Articles 133 and 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, to which Captain Kelly remains subject as a retired officer receiving pay.
They’re called consequences, Senator. Remember this garbage—the stunt that crossed a bright line and invited chaos? It wasn’t a one-off, and it wasn’t harmless.
The video featured Sen. Mark Kelly, along with Reps. Chris Deluzio (PA-17), Chrissy Houlahan (PA-6), Maggie Goodlander (NH-2), and Jason Crow (CO-6):
As we’ve seen lately—with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, former Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro, and others—it appears to be a season of actions meeting consequences. Call it, politely, “fooling around and finding out.”
For his part, the senator still doesn’t get it. Yes, his service to the nation should be acknowledged and respected—but that doesn’t grant him immunity from criticism when he crosses a line. Statements like the one he just issued make it clear he’s lost the plot:
Pete Hegseth wants to send the message to every single retired servicemember that if they say something he or Donald Trump doesn’t like, they will come after them the same way. It’s outrageous and it is wrong. There is nothing more un-American than that.
No—undermining the troops and the chain of command is not acceptable. Full stop. And an honorable past record, while worthy of respect, does not excuse reckless conduct in the present or erase the consequences of dangerous rhetoric.
You should know better.
DOJ Announces Conviction In Minnesota Meth Ring Linked To Sinaloa Cartel
A fifth individual has been found guilty in a significant meth trafficking conspiracy in Minnesota, which is linked to the infamous Sinaloa Cartel from Mexico, as announced by federal prosecutors on Tuesday.
Eric Anthony Rodriguez, 47, has been convicted in U.S. District Court on charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, following a six-day trial presided over by Judge Susan R. Nelson.
Prosecutors have indicated that Rodriguez was involved with the “Diaz-Aguilar Drug Trafficking Organization,” which conducted operations throughout Minnesota from April 2024 to March 2025, Fox News reported.
Prosecutors have reported that the organization was responsible for transporting large quantities of meth, at times reaching hundreds of pounds, into the state. The organization was under the leadership of Erick Emilio Diaz-Aguilar, 33, who had previously entered a guilty plea. He was joined by co-defendants Juan Martin Elvira Jr., 36, Edward Gonzalez, 30, and Bruce Michael Orton, 44.
In a thorough investigation spanning nearly a year, law enforcement successfully confiscated approximately 60 pounds of methamphetamine, 1,500 fentanyl pills, and over $20,000 in cash. Law enforcement officials conducted raids on stash houses located in Columbia Heights, Hastings, and Rochester.
In November 2025, law enforcement officials apprehended Rodriguez during a planned traffic operation, seizing three pounds of methamphetamine from his vehicle. Prosecutors indicated that trial evidence revealed he had received numerous additional pounds intended for distribution.
Federal authorities have reported that the trafficking network is connected to the Sinaloa cartel, a Mexican transnational criminal organization historically associated with significant drug operations in the United States. Rodriguez is scheduled to receive his sentencing at a future date.
This has been a historic month for the DOJ and FBI.
FBI Director Kash Patel highlighted what he described as a record-setting first year at the helm of the bureau during an appearance on Fox News, citing major gains in capturing fugitives from the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list.
Patel appeared on “Hannity” after host Sean Hannity noted that the FBI has apprehended six of its Ten Most Wanted fugitives in just one year. Hannity compared this performance to the previous administration’s record of only capturing four fugitives from the list in four years.
Patel said the difference reflects a fundamental change in how the bureau operates.
He said the FBI has placed approximately 1,000 additional agents into the field to focus on violent crime and fugitive apprehension.
The FBI announced the milestone following the January arrest of Ten Most Wanted fugitive Alejandro Rosales Castillo.
Castillo is accused of the 2016 murder of 23-year-old Truc Quan Sandy Ly Le, whose body was found in a wooded area of Cabarrus County, North Carolina.
State charges were filed in Mecklenburg County in November 2016, including first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and larceny of a motor vehicle.
A federal arrest warrant was issued in February 2017 for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
He credited President Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and international law enforcement partners for the successful operation.
Patel made headlines in late January when the FBI announced that nearly 50 members and associates of the Latin Kings street gang had been arrested as part of a sweeping, multistate operation aimed at disrupting gang-related crime, drug trafficking, and violence across the United States.
The effort, dubbed “Operation Broken Crown,” involved more than a dozen FBI field offices working with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement partners over three months, the bureau said.
Officials said agents seized more than a dozen firearms, nearly $200,000 in illicit funds, and over 10 kilograms of cocaine, fentanyl, and other narcotics during the opera
tion, which began in October 2025.
Patel praised the operation’s results and said in a statement that the bureau will continue efforts to dismantle violent gangs and safeguard communities.
“Under President Trump’s and Attorney General Bondi’s leadership, this FBI is dismantling violent gang networks in America at a record clip — breaking their operations and saving lives in the process,” FBI Director Kash Patel said.
CNN’s Jennings Calls Out Summers, Plaskett Over Epstein Emails
CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings accused Democrats on Friday of trying to control the narrative surrounding the late child sex predator Jeffrey Epstein, arguing the effort “blew up in their face.”
Jennings made the comments during an appearance on the PBD Podcast with Patrick Bet-David, where he criticized Rep. Jasmine Crockett and other Democrats for their handling of the Epstein issue, Mediaite
reported.
Jennings pointed to Crockett’s recent remarks on the House floor in which she claimed “a Jeffrey Epstein” had donated to Republicans like Lee Zeldin, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator.
Crockett quickly learned the donor she referenced was not the late billionaire, who died in 2019 while facing sex trafficking charges.
“She’s the smartest person they could find so they sent her to do this,” Jennings said.
“And the reason is this: because they are desperate to make this a story about President [Donald] Trump and Epstein. And the only thing we found out in the last week is that it’s a story about Democrats and Epstein,” he added. “You got Larry Summers asking for dating advice from Epstein.”
Summers, a former Treasury Secretary under President Bill Clinton, stepped down from a Harvard role after newly released emails showed him seeking dating advice from Epstein from November 2018 to July 2019.
The emails were sent years after Epstein had already registered as a sex offender following his conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution.
Jennings also called out Del. Stacey Plaskett of the Virgin Islands over her correspondences with Epstein during a 2019 congressional hearing, claiming the billionaire appeared to influence her questioning.
Plaskett, who narrowly avoided House censure, has said she relied on Epstein only for “information.”
“You got Plaskett being programmed by Epstein,” Jennings said.
“They lost the narrative, so they sent out their smartest person, Jasmine Crockett, to try to reset the narrative, and it blew up in their face.”
“They may regret going down this road.”
Crockett’s comments about a donor named Epstein came during the attempt to censure Plaskett.
She defended naming the wrong Epstein by saying her staff did not have time to properly vet the information.
She also argued she never specifically claimed it was the Jeffrey Epstein at the center of the censure effort.
“Listen, I never said that it was that Jeffrey Epstein,” she told CNN. “Just so that people understand, when you make a donation, your picture is not there.”
“And because they decided to spring this on us in real time, I wanted the Republicans to think about what could potentially happen because I knew that they didn’t even try to go through the FEC. So my team, what they did is they Googled. And that is specifically why I said, a, Jeffrey Epstein.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi said Wednesday that the Justice Department will release all unclassified records connected to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein within 30 days of President Donald Trump signing new disclosure legislation.
Earlier in the day, the Senate formally transmitted the bill to Trump after voting Tuesday night to automatically approve it upon arrival from the House. The House passed the measure Tuesday in a 427–1 vote.
Under the Epstein Files Transparency Act — which Trump has signaled he will sign — Bondi must disclose all documents, including internal communications and investigative materials, related to Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell within 30 days of the law taking effect.
In 2019, Epstein reportedly committed suicide while in federal custody, as he awaited trial for charges connected to the sex trafficking of minors. Maxwell, having been found guilty of sex trafficking and related offenses, is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence.
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“We will follow the law,” Bondi told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday.
“The law passed both chambers last evening. It has not yet been signed, but we will continue to follow the law again while protecting victims but also providing maximum transparency.”
