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Legal Af
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Hegseth looks like TOTAL FOOL as He’s HAUNTED by HIS OWN WORDS

Posted

January 12, 2026

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Brian Kabateck and Shant Karnikian dissect the stunning hypocrisy of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attacking Senator Mark Kelly for saying the exact same thing Hegseth himself said in 2016. Brian refuses to call Hegseth "Secretary of Defense," noting he may be the most dangerous member of the Trump administration besides Trump himself. Kelly, a retired Navy captain (equivalent to Army full colonel), astronaut, and decorated combat veteran, made a straightforward statement: "You must refuse illegal orders. No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our constitution." Brian emphasizes this is basic military law—like stating "it's illegal to murder another human being." The hypocrisy? In 2016, when Fox News contributor Pete Hegseth discussed Trump potentially giving illegal orders, he said: "The military's not gonna follow illegal orders" and "They won't follow unlawful orders from their commander in chief." Shant notes Hegseth's statements were actually stronger than Kelly's. Brian reveals a critical fact: Hegseth served in the Army National Guard from 2002-2021, retiring as a major. Under the same Uniform Code of Military Justice, Hegseth could be recalled and face court-martial for his 2016 statements. If representing Kelly at trial, Brian would immediately call Hegseth as his first witness. The inconsistent standards trouble Shant most—you can't believe Kelly said something improper while ignoring that Hegseth said the same thing. Brian notes this demonstrates the Trump administration's stubbornness and stupidity, as they've lost far more cases than they've won. Hegseth has now moved to cut Kelly's retirement pay and reduce his rank for stating basic military doctrine, while Hegseth himself made identical statements without consequence.

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Guests & Subjects Covered

Subscribe Brian KabateckShant KarnikianDefense Secretary Pete HegsethSenator Mark KellyHegseth SecretaryFox NewsPete HegsethKelly's Brian

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