Sen. Mark Kelly's lawyer urges DOJ officials not to seek indictment for a second time over video [View all]

Source: NBC News

Feb. 14, 2026, 5:22 PM EST


An attorney for Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., is urging U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and Attorney General Pam Bondi not to pursue an indictment for a second time against a group of lawmakers who participated in a video encouraging members of the military to ignore “illegal orders,” according to a letter first obtained by NBC News.

The letter, sent Friday from Kelly’s attorney Paul Fishman to Bondi and Pirro, warns the Department of Justice against attempting to go to a second grand jury to seek an indictment against the six Democratic lawmakers who participated in the video, saying “that course of action would be a remarkable abuse of the Department’s power. There has never been any factual or legal basis for such an investigation or prosecution.”

NBC News was first to report that the Trump administration had failed to indict the lawmakers on Feb. 10, with no grand jurors finding that the Justice Department had reached the low probable cause threshold needed to indict.

The prosecutors attempted to indict Kelly and Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire and Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/sen-mark-kellys-lawyer-urges-doj-officials-not-seek-indictment-second-rcna259093