FILE PHOTO: U.S. Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) looks on as U.S. Representative Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) (not pictured) holds a press conference calling for the release of the Epstein files, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 18, 2025. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday requested he be briefed by December 10 on the results of a review into "potentially unlawful" comments made by U.S. Senator Mark Kelly, a retired Navy captain.

Hegseth made the request in a letter to the secretary of the navy that the defense department posted on X.

The Pentagon on Monday threatened to recall Kelly to active duty status in order to prosecute him after what it described as seditious behavior by the former astronaut and decorated veteran. Kelly denies any wrongdoing.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward, writing by David Ljunggren)