Mark Kirk's Tweets May Have Broken Military Rules

Mark Kirk may have Tweeted himself into trouble last week.

The Republican Congressman and Navy Reservist running to replace Roland Burris in the U.S. Senate committed two potential violations of military regulations thanks to Twitter: engaging in campaign activities and revealing his location while on active duty.

On July 25, Kirk (or a staff member) Tweeted:

On duty @ the Pentagon's National Military Command Center. All is currently (relatively) quiet. Honor 2 be back w/ my fellow Navy colleagues.

A similar Tweet came the following day:

Back on duty in the National Military Command Center - lets hope for a calm day for our troops.

The posts caught the eye of Capitol Fax's Rich Miller, whose parents worked for the Department of Defense, and led him to wonder if Kirk violated military rules by revealing his location and campaigning while on-duty (Kirk's Twitter feed is draped in campaign imagery).

A Department of Defense directive prohibits active duty military from participating in campaign activities:

Any member on active duty who is permitted to be, or otherwise not prohibited from being, a nominee or candidate for office as described in subparagraph 4.2.1. may NOT participate in any campaign activities.

Kirk's campaign said a staffer -- rather than the Congressman -- updated the feed with a pre-approved Tweet, though that calls into question a time-sensitive post like "All is currently (relatively) quiet."

The Pentagon told Miller it is "aware of the tweets by Congressman Kirk during a recent drill weekend here at the Pentagon and we're going to be looking into the matter." They expect to issue a statement this coming week.

Kirk's office, meanwhile, said it will "refrain from future posts while he is on duty."

Comments

[AriGold]

Congressman Kirk did nothing wrong. His staff posted on his tweet. Why isn't anyone focusing on how Kirk is the Only Congressman who serves on active duty. Kirk was even awarded naval Officer of the year back in 2000. He is a fantastic member of the Navy, and an equally good representative. The state of Illinois is lucky to have the opportunity to elect such a great person to Senate.

[KevinFSmith]

Those who attack Mark Kirk as an active military serviceman with a distinct lack of judgment seem to overlook his more exceptional service record. He was named Naval Intelligence Officer of the Year and has been deployed to Afghanistan, serving his country honorably. As for calling him a "political grandstander," I don't see how serving in the military for over a decade prior to becoming a congressman is "political grandstand­ing." It seems to me that he is instead a dedicated citizen and a patriot.

And as for the matter at hand, the tweeting: it did not compromise national security in any way. Was the staffer amiss in tweeting on the Congressman's location? Perhaps. But no damage was done, the Congressman himself was not the one who did the tweeting, and in the end there are issues of far greater importance to be discussed right now then a largely meaningless twitter.

[bluestatedad]

I worry about our military if someone with KIrk's lack of judgement is an "active" member.
We need professionals in our military--not political grandstanders like Kirk.
The same can be said for the Senate. There's a big difference between political showboating and
being an effective Senator. I live in the 10th Congressional district of Illinois, and I could never vote for Kirk because he's into meaningless partisan bluster--big time.

[KRKring]

Hey HuffPo...o­r rather anonymous HuffPo writer: "...commit­ted two potential violations of military regulations thanks to Twitter", you/article says. Don't blame Twitter. By way of Twitter, yes.

Hey Kirk staffer(s): While transparency is the new rage in government, corporate and media circles, and rightly so, no need to pretend to be your boss and make superficial comments that also risk breaking regs. You can do better. Just 'cause so many other pols are doing it doesn't mean you too have to use Twitter poorly. Follow some smarter tweeters and LISTEN.

Just sayin'...

[LeaderofMen]

Then fire the staffer.

[LMPE]

Mark Kirk wants to restore integrity to Illinois politics.

In other news, lions are vegetarians and the sky is green.

[RoveRoveRoveYourBoat]

I feel so safe knowing that mork smirk is
holding down the "MILITARY CONTROL CENTER"
"All is currently quiet"- like some Maxwell Smart imitation.

[rchsod]

kirk has a lot of money and the republicans love him. they`ll over look his faults because they want the senate seat. the question is..who is going to be the chosen one for the democrats?

one thing is for sure..next year is going to be very interesting in the state of illinois

[VOTER]

Will Dem and Independent Voters Overlook Kirk's Record? He needs their votes.

Between 2001-2008, Kirk voted 87% party line Republican. He was/is a Bush Loyalist.

He voted Against the Intelligence Authorization Act which would have prevented the
CIA from water boarding torture.

Kirk voted For wiretapping.

Kirk voted Against Extending Unemployment Benefits. (Regular folks aren't having a hard time.)

Kirk voted Against Fair Pay for Women.

Kirk voted Against Obama's Stimulus Plan.

Kirk voted Against the helping Families Save Their Homes Act, 2009.

Kirk voted Against Curtailing Executive Bonuses for Large Corporations
Getting Taxpayer Funded TARP Funds.

[VOTER]

Kirk also called supporters of Dan Seals, his Democratic Opponent in last
year's Congressional race,

"Goons and Crooks."

"Hey, Goon and/or Crook, now I need your vote for the Senate.
How about it?"

"Sure."

[VOTER]

A vote for Kirk is a vote for the Bush Legacy.

[WhatTheHolyHeck]

This.

[VOTER]

We should all vote for Mark Kirk since he can "clearly see into the future."
Then again he didn't tell us about the enormous DEBT AND LOSS OF LIFE during
his 8 years of being Bush's "Yes" Congressman.

Did he Tweet the messages and ignore the rules or did he write his
Tweets earlier predicting how things would be in the future and instruct
his staff to send out his messages?

How can such a "seasoned long-time Politician and military man," not know the rules of what he
can and can't do?

Ruthless campaigning?
Rules apply to everybody else but him?
He can See Into the Future?

[mamala4]

No but he can see Iowa from his house!

[VOTER]

LOL

[bosha]

And Kirk is the same person who told the Chinese not to trust America. I hope the people of Illinois don't vote Kirk in he is dangerous and rueful.

[katepoet]

Congressman Mark Kirk

Stationed at the Pentagon,
his staff sends out Kirk's tweets,
campaigning from the Command Center...
for Roland Burrus' Senate seat!

http://www.mykuworld.com/MyKu.mvc/Board/550