Sen. Mark Kelly defends the Trump probe, calls Sen. Kyrsten Sinema 'very effective'

Sen. Mark Kelly defended the criminal investigations of former President Donald Trump on the eve of a potential historic indictment and called Sen. Kyrsten Sinema “very effective” without taking sides in her possible reelection run against Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego.

Appearing Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Kelly, D-Ariz., mostly condemned Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine and called the downing of an American drone last week an example of their pilots’ “incompetence,” which he said he saw firsthand as a NASA pilot.

But Kelly’s comments on Trump and Sinema touched on matters that could help shape control of the White House and Senate, with Arizona expected to play a significant role on both fronts.

Kelly: 'Nobody is above the law'

Asked whether the expected charges from New York prosecutors justify an unprecedented case against a former president, Kelly said Trump should not be treated differently than anyone else.

“We’re a country of laws, and nobody is above the law,” he said. “I would hope that if they brought charges, they would have a strong case because this is, as you said, unprecedented. There’s certainly risks involved here, but again, nobody in our nation is or should be above the law.”

Trump has said he expects to be arrested on Tuesday as part of a case in New York that is believed to center on his $130,000 payment through his personal lawyer to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about their sexual relationship.

It would be the first-ever indictment of a former U.S. president and could be just a first case against Trump, who is again running for president.

Prosecutors in Georgia are weighing charges relating to his effort to convince election officials there to “find” enough votes for him to win that state in the 2020 election. In Washington, the Justice Department is investigating Trump for hoarding hundreds of classified documents after leaving office despite repeated requests to return them.

In a message on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump called Saturday for “PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!”

Kelly recalled the mob attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and said Trump’s supporters have the right to peacefully express their views, but he called for law enforcement to “make sure it doesn’t rise to the level of violence.”

Does he favor Sinema, or Democratic nominee, for Senate in 2024?

Kelly declined to take sides on Arizona’s 2024 Senate race when asked whether he plans to back Sinema, I-Ariz., or the Democratic nominee.

Gallego entered that race in January. Sinema has filed necessary paperwork for a run but has not formally said she will seek a second term.

“I’m not going to get ahead of Sen. Sinema. She hasn’t made an announcement. What she has said is she doesn’t want to be focused on politics right now,” Kelly said.

“I’ve worked with her very closely over the last two years really in a very positive way. She’s very effective in the United States Senate. We’ve got a lot done, and I look forward to doing that over the next months and the rest of this year.”

Kelly was more direct in his assessment of U.S. interests in the war in Ukraine.

A Russian fighter jet knocked down an unmanned U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone flying over the Black Sea after the Pentagon said it intentionally bumped the craft.

Kelly said the event was characteristic of the kind of carelessness he saw as a pilot for NASA, which flew with Russians as part of the International Space Station.

“We shouldn’t hold back our MQ-9s that are flying in the area. But let me reiterate that the Russians here have shown how reckless they are, how incompetent they are,” Kelly said, echoing a view he first noted in an interview with Fox News Thursday.

“I flew with Russian pilots in the back seat of my NASA jet for, you know, decades. I flew in space with Russians. I’m not surprised by this.

“I flew with Russian pilots, you know, fighter pilots who couldn’t fly formation. I watched this video and it’s pretty obvious what happened: He lost sight of it and he crashed into it. He didn’t do it intentionally, but it was reckless, and it’s incompetence that we see on the battlefield every day in Ukraine. And that’s why the losses that the Russians are suffering right now are really high.”

Kelly and Sinema were among 25 Americans placed on a list for economic sanctions by Russia in September in retaliation for U.S. sanctions on Russia.

Reach the reporter Ronald J. Hansen at ronald.hansen@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4493. Follow him on Twitter @ronaldjhansen.

Subscribe to our free political podcast, The Gaggle.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Sen. Mark Kelly defends Trump probe, calls Kyrsten Sinema effective