Senate Democrats on the chamber's Armed Services Committee called the Pentagon's investigation into Senator Mark Kelly , D-Arizona, "an outright, brazen abuse of power" in a letter sent to Secretary of the Navy John Phelan on Dec. 9.

"We believe this 'review' along with the Department of Defense’s social media post announcing a 'thorough review' of Senator Kelly’s actions ... amount to a purely political exercise seeking to threaten legitimate and lawful actions by a duly elected Senator, and politicize our military justice system," according to the letter provided to USA TODAY.

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