WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The FBI has requested interviews with six Democrats from the U.S. Congress who told members of the military they must refuse any illegal orders, a Justice Department official told Reuters on Tuesday.
The move, reported earlier by Fox News, comes a day after the Pentagon threatened to recall U.S. Senator Mark Kelly, a Navy veteran and one of the six lawmakers, to active duty potentially to face military charges over what Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth described as "seditious" acts on social media.
The other lawmakers, who made the comments in a video released last week, include Senator Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA analyst and Iraq war veteran, and Representatives Jason Crow, Maggie Goodlander, Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan.
The legislators created the video amid concerns from Democrats - echoed privately by some U.S. military commanders - that the Trump administration is violating the law by ordering strikes on vessels purportedly carrying suspected drug traffickers in Latin American waters.
The Pentagon has argued the strikes are justified because the drug smugglers are considered terrorists.
In a statement on Monday, Kelly dismissed the Pentagon's threat as an intimidation tactic.
The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Jana Winter and Jasper Ward, writing by Joseph Ax; editing by Scott Malone)
