Judge Richard J. Leon

Susan Estrich
Fri, 13 Feb 2026 23:00:00 -0800
Opinion

My hero for the week is yet another federal district judge, who is holding the line on the worst of the Trump administration's excesses. Richard Leon is a former President George W. Bush appointee to the District Court for the District of Columbia. On Thursday, he issued an order at least temporarily blocking Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from punishing Democratic Senator Mark Kelly for his role in a video that (rightly and lawfully) reminded active-duty service members not to follow illegal orders.

"Rather than trying to shrink the First Amendment liberties of retired service members, Secretary Hegseth and his fellow Defendants might reflect and be grateful for the wisdom and expertise that retired service members have brought to public discussions and debate on military matters in our Nation over the past 250 years," Judge Leon wrote in his 29-page opinion. "If so, they will more fully appreciate why the Founding Fathers made free speech the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights!"

Senator Kelly, a former astronaut and retired Navy captain, was one of six Democratic members of Congress who made a video targeted to members of the military and intelligence communities. "Our laws are clear," Mr. Kelly says in the video. "You can refuse illegal orders."
Updated: Sat Feb 14, 2026

My hero for the week is yet another federal district judge, who is holding the line on the worst of the Trump administration's excesses. Richard Leon is a former President George W. Bush appointee to the District Court for the District of Columbia. On Thursday, he issued an order at least temporarily blocking Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from punishing Democratic Senator Mark Kelly for his role in a video that (rightly and lawfully) reminded active-duty service members not to follow illegal orders.

"Rather than trying to shrink the First Amendment liberties of retired service members, Secretary Hegseth and his fellow Defendants might reflect and be grateful for the wisdom and expertise that retired service members have brought to public discussions and debate on military matters in our Nation over the past 250 years," Judge Leon wrote in his 29-page opinion. "If so, they will more fully appreciate why the Founding Fathers made free speech the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights!"

Senator Kelly, a former astronaut and retired Navy captain, was one of six Democratic members of Congress who made a video targeted to members of the military and intelligence communities. "Our laws are clear," Mr. Kelly says in the video. "You can refuse illegal orders."

Not only can you. You should.

The video led to a truly hysterical response by the president and his administration. President Donald Trump, in a torrid rant, accused the Democratic veterans who made the video of "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH." Trump's prosecutors went to the grand jury to try to indict the six Democrats and in what used to be an extraordinary move, but has become more common thanks to the outrageousness of some of the Trump requests, the grand jury actually said no. This, notwithstanding the Justice Department's repeated arguments that the Democratic video, along with Senator Kelly's criticism of the former Fox News weekend host for firing admirals and generals and surrounding himself with "yes men," undermined military discipline.

Judge Leon's ruling came in the context of a case brought by Senator Kelly challenging the Secretary's efforts to punish him for his exercise of First Amendment rights. The government tried to get his case thrown out, arguing that Senator Kelly could not challenge military punishment in a civil proceeding. Judge Leon rejected that argument, recognizing that the government was trying to ensure that "the military can have the first crack at adjudicating his First Amendment rights."

"This Court has all it needs to conclude that Defendants have trampled on Senator Kelly's First Amendment freedoms and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees," he wrote. "After all, as Bob Dylan famously said, 'You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.' To say the least, our retired veterans deserve more respect from their government and our Constitution demands they receive it!"

Which way the wind blows. I am almost reluctant to celebrate Judge Leon, which he deserves, because of what I know happens to those who stand up and enforce the checks and balances of the Constitution.

They become targets. They receive death threats. Their families receive threats. The overblown rhetoric of this administration has turned constitutional adjudication into a dangerous enterprise.

"This case was never just about me," Senator Kelly said in a statement after the decision. "This administration was sending a message to millions of retired veterans that they, too, can be censured or demoted just for speaking out. That's why I couldn't let it stand."

Hopefully, by taking the target off Senator Kelly's back and that of other military veterans, Judge Leon didn't put one on his own back. You shouldn't need the courage of a hero to be a federal judge. Unfortunately, these days, you do.