396. Senator Mark Kelly. His Face-to-Face With Hegseth Today in DC. His Plan to Combat Trump’s Courts Martial Ridiculousness. Why He Recorded the Video to the Troops. Will He Run for President? Can He Stop a War with Venezuela? Free Speech Under Attack.

Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff

Righteous Media | Bleav

Politics, News, National Security, News Commentary, Daily News, Veteran

4.6 • 907 Ratings

🗓️ 16 December 2025

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This is a huge and news-making show. Recorded just before Kelly’s pivotal meeting with Hegseth in Washington. When Donald Trump used the power of the presidency to call for Senator Mark Kelly’s execution, he crossed a dangerous new line—and sent a chilling message to millions of veterans and every American who dares to speak out. In this all–new episode, Independent Americans host and Army veteran Paul Rieckhoff sits down with the Arizona Senator, Navy combat pilot and astronaut for a raw, unfiltered, and urgent conversation about retribution, free speech, and the future of American democracy. Just hours before his first face-to-face meeting with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth since Hegseth and Trump launched an unprecedented military investigation into Kelly. Senator Kelly explains why Trump’s move is not just an attack on him, but on every retired service member who might now think twice before speaking his/her mind. He breaks down how Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are trying to weaponize the Uniform Code of Military Justice against political opponents, and why he refuses to be silenced—even if that means facing a “kangaroo court” in uniform. Rieckhoff presses Kelly on the looming risk of a new war with Venezuela, what Trump might do while Congress is out of session, and why the administration still hasn’t offered any clear legal or strategic justification for putting American troops in harm’s way. Kelly connects the dots between Trump’s past calls to kill the families of terrorists, shoot protesters in the legs, and “just kill people,” and the dangerous culture now spreading inside the Pentagon. This is a critical, behind-the-scenes briefing with the Senator on the Armed Services and Intelligence Committees who is directly in Trump’s crosshairs—and who is still showing up to hold this White House to account. It’s also a powerful message to every independent, veteran, military family, and engaged citizen about courage, oversight, and what it really means to stay vigilant in this moment. Because every episode of Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff breaks down the most important news stories--and offers light to contrast the heat of other politics and news shows. It’s independent content for independent Americans. In these trying times especially, Independent Americans is your trusted place for independent news, politics, inspiration and hope. The podcast that helps you stay ahead of the curve--and stay vigilant. -WATCH video of this episode on YouTube now. -Learn more about Paul’s work to elect a new generation of independent leaders with Independent Veterans of America. -Join the movement. Hook into our exclusive Patreon community of Independent Americans. Get extra content, connect with guests, meet other Independent Americans, attend events, get merch discounts, and support this show that speaks truth to power. -Check the hashtag #LookForTheHelpers. And share yours. -Find us on social media or www.IndependentAmericans.us. -And get cool IA and Righteous hats, t-shirts and other merch now in time for the holidays. -Check out other Righteous podcasts like The Firefighters Podcast with Rob Serra, Uncle Montel - The OG of Weed and B Dorm. Independent Americans is powered by veteran-owned and led Righteous Media. Spotify • Apple Podcasts • Amazon Podcasts Ways to watch: YouTube • Instagram X/Twitter • BlueSky • Facebook Ways to listen:Social channels:

Transcript

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0:00.0	Powered by righteous media.
0:17.6	Welcome to Independent Americans.
0:20.8	Welcome to episode 396. I'm your host Paul Reichoff. It is Tuesday, December 16th, and we've got a huge show ahead. But it's nine days until Christmas. I continue to move the elves on a shelf every night. They are named Sparkle and Brunson, as in Jalen Brunson.
0:41.2	Tonight is the third night of Hanukkah, happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate. And I'm, of course,
0:46.3	coming to you from New York City, USA, where it is still cold as hell. But we are going to keep you
0:51.7	warm today with a very hot and important interview
0:54.9	with the great and powerful Senator Mark Kelly, the Arizona Senator, Navy Combat Vet,
1:00.6	astronaut, who is in the crosshairs of all things, Hegseth and Trump right now,
1:05.5	spoke to me just an hour before he sat down with a face-to-face with Pete Hegseth.
1:10.5	The first time they've been in
1:11.6	the same room since Hegset launched these crazy investigations on him. Coming up in just a minute,
1:16.7	we will have Senator Kelly here to talk directly to you. But first, there is a ton happening on
1:21.7	this Tuesday. Stories continue to pour out of Sydney after the gruesome massacre. The death toll is now at 15. We now
1:29.2	learn that the Bondi Beach shooting was motivated by ISIS. The Australian Prime Minister has said
1:34.7	the suspects travel to southern Philippines, where ISIS is still active. Maybe an important part
1:40.8	that's not being fully appreciated. It's galvanizing Australia and much of the
1:45.2	world because of the heroism we're learning about. And one of them I want to pull out. Sophia and
1:50.2	Boris German, 69 and 61, have been identified as the couple that heroically tried to stop the
1:57.4	terrorist as he exited his car before the massacre. The older couple struggled to
2:02.8	prevent him from opening fire. They slowed him down. And after a few minutes of struggle,
2:07.1	the gunman overpowered them, got back his weapon, and shot them both in cold blood. But
2:12.4	Boris and Sophia's act of selflessness and courage will never be forgotten.
	...

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