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Kelly said the Defense Department did not notify him of an investigation because "what they really care about is the public message.�

The Pentagon confirmed late Monday that Hegseth’s office escalated a preliminary review of Kelly to an official command investigation over "serious allegations of misconduct.�

Command investigations are a very common tool used by military officials to look into allegations of wrongdoing that don’t rise to the level of criminal charges. It is far less common for them to be used against a retired service member, much less a sitting member of Congress.

between the Democratic senator, who was a Navy fighter pilot before becoming an astronaut, and the Trump administration's Pentagon, coming as lawmakers have increased scrutiny of the U.S. military's attacks on boats accused of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.

In a letter this week to the Pentagon, Kelly’s lawyers said that “there is no legitimate basis for any type of proceeding� and that “any such effort would be unconstitutional and an extraordinary abuse of power."

The investigation was ordered after President Donald Trump accused six Democratic lawmakers who appeared in a video urging troops to defy undefined illegal orders of sedition “punishable by DEATH."

Hegseth said Kelly faced investigation because he is the only one of the lawmakers who formally retired from the military and is still under the Pentagon’s jurisdiction, arguing that “Kelly’s conduct brings discredit upon the armed forces.�

Kelly did nothing illegal, the Pentagon was misreading military law and he couldn’t be prosecuted by the executive branch as a member of Congress.

The video was released in November by Democrats who served in the military or intelligence community: Kelly, Sen. and Reps. Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander and Chrissy Houlahan. The lawmakers, who are seen as possible future aspirants for higher office and elevated their political profiles with the video’s wide exposure, spoke “directly to members of the military.�

Kelly told troops that “you can refuse illegal orders,� while other lawmakers in the video said they needed troops to “stand up for our laws ... our Constitution.�

The lawmakers didn’t mention specific circumstances. But their message was released amid the boat strike campaign and Trump's attempts to deploy ºÃÉ«tv Guard troops to American cities.

The issue of illegal orders became even more salient following the revelations of clinging to the wreckage of a boat after the first hit, which some legal experts and lawmakers say went against the laws of war.

that the strike that killed survivors was justified because the people were trying to overturn the boat and stay in the fight. The administration says are stemming the flow of narcotics into the United States and that the U.S. is engaged in an .

Hegseth on Tuesday called it “a highly successful mission to counter designated terrorist organizations� bringing in drugs that are “poisoning the American people.�

When it announced its investigation into Kelly, the Pentagon suggested Kelly’s statements interfered with the “loyalty, morale, or good order and discipline of the armed forces� by citing the federal law that prohibits such actions. The Defense Department also said it could recall Kelly to active duty for court-martial proceedings.

Kelly rejected the claims by Trump and the Pentagon, saying he upheld his oath to the Constitution and has dismissed the Pentagon investigation as the work of “bullies.�

“They’re trying to shut people up,� he said Tuesday. “But in this case, they picked the wrong guy. So I’m not going to shut up about this.�