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A Democratic congresswoman and former Air Force captain who joined five other lawmakers in a viral video advising service members they could refuse illegal orders from a president shared a slew of voicemails backing her stance.
The video released by six Democrat lawmakers who are veterans drew sharp rebuke from President Donald Trump, who called them “traitors,” and War Secretary Pete Hegseth, who asked Navy Secretary John Phelan to formally review one senator’s comments in the clip.
Rep. Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, who represents Chester County and Reading, shared a mashup of numerous messages praising her and her colleagues for “standing up” for military members at what the lawmakers involved said was a tenuous time to be serving the public.
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Several callers were not constituents, including veterans from as far away as Fairbanks, Alaska. Others said they hailed from Philadelphia, Reading, West Chester, Phoenixville and Berwyn, Pennsylvania, along with Baltimore, Maryland; Carlsbad, California; and beyond.
They identified themselves by their military record as well, including Marine vets, infantry vets, a wounded warrior, a Gulf War vet and descendants of World War I, World War II, Vietnam and Korea.
“I am not a constituent,” one said. “I am a veteran.”
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“Thank you for standing firmly with our service members,” another said.
“I just want to tell her I appreciate her comments, and they’re right,” a third caller said.
Addressing the video’s quotes directly, another veteran expressed gratitude that Houlahan was “letting them know it’s OK to question orders that seem wrong or illegal.”
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“I’m with you. I’m behind you.”
“You have support and gratitude from citizens across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Thank you. That’s all I can tell you. Thank you very much. You’re making the commonwealth very proud. I am so proud of all six of you for making that video,” several callers added in an edited, composite excerpt.
“I will continue to speak up for you because you continue to speak up to me,” another told Houlahan.
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In response, the White House said Democrats like Houlahan were unable to list any examples of unlawful orders given by Trump or the Pentagon when they were asked.
“Because there have been none,” said White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson.
“It should deeply concern all Americans that elected Democrats are publicly urging the military to openly defy the chain-of-command and the commander in chief’s lawful orders to subvert the will of the American people,” she said.
On Tuesday, Houlahan said the FBI reached out to the House and Senate sergeants-at-arms, who maintain order in the Capitol galleries, requesting interviews with lawmakers in the video.
“President Trump is using the FBI as a tool to intimidate and harass members of Congress,” Houlahan said.
“No amount of intimidation or harassment will ever stop us from doing our jobs and honoring our Constitution.”
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“We will never be bullied. We will never give up the ship,” she said, quoting a line from the video spoken by Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich.
The most prominent lawmaker in the video, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., has since been subject to an impending investigation by the Pentagon, according to documents.
Kelly, a retired Navy combat pilot and astronaut, is in the distinct category of “retired” — requiring 20 years of service — rather than “former,” a status that allows the Pentagon to recall him for disciplinary action that could include loss of rank or other penalties.
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Hegseth branded Houlahan, Kelly and the others the “Seditious Six,” and his office released a statement saying that all “service members are reminded that they have a legal obligation under the UCMJ to obey lawful orders and that orders are presumed to be lawful.”
“A service member’s personal philosophy does not justify or excuse the disobedience of an otherwise lawful order,” the War Department said.
Houlahan spent two years on active duty in the Air Force from 1989-1991 and the rest of her career in the Reserves until separating in 2004.
Her father was a Naval aviator and she was born at the Naval Air Station Patuxent base in St. Mary’s, Maryland.
Five of the six lawmakers in the video also reportedly received bomb threats to their offices since the release of the video.
Slotkin, Houlahan and Reps. Jason Crow, D-Colo., and Chris Deluzio, D-Pa., received threats to their Capitol Hill offices, while Rep. Maggie Goodlander, the wife of Obama National Security Adviser Jacob Sullivan, was subject to a bomb threat at her local office in Concord, New Hampshire, according to Newsweek.
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