A huge shout-out today to the members of the grand jury that refused to indict the six Democratic lawmakers who posted a video urging service members and intelligence officials not to obey illegal orders from the Trump administration.

We don’t know the names of the members of the grand jury. But the six members of Congress who courageously and honorably spoke out for the Constitution are (L-R above): Rep. Chris Deluzio (PA), Rep. Maggie Goodlander (NH), Sen. Mark Kelly (AZ), Sen. Elissa Slotkin (MI), Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (PA), and Rep. Jason Crow (CO).

The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) obligates military personnel to obey all legal orders. It also requires them to disobey any and all illegal orders — orders that violate the Constitution, federal law, or international law such as the Geneva Conventions — and in fact subjects them to possible court-martial for carrying out illegal orders.

Posting the video was completely legal; the content of the video was 100% accurate; and that is precisely what infuriated Donald Trump. Because he was being called out for his illegal, unconstitutional orders resulting in the inhumane treatment, and even deaths, of both foreign and American individuals.

Typically, he went into attack mode and launched a social media offensive, accusing the six lawmakers of sedition “punishable by DEATH.” Senator Mark Kelly — a retired Navy Captain — became the immediate target of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who threatened to cut his rank and retirement pay. And within weeks, each of the six was individually contacted by federal prosecutors as part of an investigation.

But they have not been silenced by the administration’s threats.

Kelly called the attempted indictment an “outrageous abuse of power,” adding:

“It wasn’t enough for Pete Hegseth to censure me and threaten to demote me, now it appears they tried to have me charged with a crime — all because of something I said that they didn’t like. That’s not the way things work in America.” [Hannah Rabinowitz, Evan Perez and Holmes Lybrand, CNN, February 10, 2026.]

Senator Slotkin, the organizer of the 90-second video, said of the grand jury’s decision: “. . . score one for the Constitution, our freedom of speech, and the rule of law.” She posted on X that the Trump administration had tried to “weaponize our justice system against his perceived enemies,” and that the case had been brought “at the direction of President Trump, who said repeatedly that I should be investigated, arrested, and hanged for sedition.” [Id.]

And Congressman Crow warned that Americans “should be appalled by the fact that Donald Trump and his goons at Department of Justice and everywhere else are weaponizing their justice system just to try to silence dissent and to crush political opponents. Not only should Americans be angry at that — they have chosen the wrong people. If these fuckers think that they’re going to intimidate us and threaten and bully me into silence, and they’re going to go after political opponents and get us to back down, they have another think coming.” He added that the “tide is turning [as Americans] are rising up against the corruption and the rank abuse of this administration.” [Id.]

From Congressman Deluzio, we heard that he likewise wouldn’t be intimidated “for a single second by the Trump Administration or Justice Department lawyers who tried and failed to indict me today.” [Id.]

Similarly, Representative Goodlander said: “Today an American grand jury honored our Constitution by standing up to an outrageous abuse of presidential power and taxpayer dollars. No matter the threats, I will keep doing my job and upholding my oath to our Constitution.” [Id.]

And from Representative Houlahan: “This is good news for the Constitution and the free speech protections it guarantees. The grand jury upheld the rule of law — this is a win for all Americans.” [Id.]

*. *. *

There is little chance that Trump will simply allow the matter to end here. But each victory for the Constitution and the rule of law — each ruling against him by a court, a grand jury, or a Congressional vote — represents a crack in the foundation of Trump’s authoritarian regime. And as those cracks widen, his authority comes closer and closer to total collapse.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
2/12/26