Trump orders Justice Department to look into Democrats over 'threats'

Days after his party lost both houses of Congress, President Donald Trump has told the Justice Department to look into Democrats over what he called “threats” of impeachment and other punishments. In a social media post on Saturday he said their actions amounted to a “criminal act”, without offering any evidence, Reuters reported.

What Trump said

Trump accused Democrats of “threatening a lot of people” and of sending “threatening letters to many people, all innocent”. He did not name the letters, but members of Congress have published copies of requests for documents on subjects such as donations from technology companies towards the large ballroom Trump is building at the White House. Asking for documents is a normal part of congressional oversight, though the president’s post treated it as intimidation.

The post also referred to Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan. Last month, at the University of Chicago, she said Congress should investigate people who have helped carry out Trump’s policies, so that graduates thinking of joining his administration would hesitate. She called that a “deterrence message”.

The reaction

Republicans criticised her remarks. Senator Mike Lee of Utah said she was threatening young people who wanted to enter public service, and Slotkin accused him of misrepresenting what she said.

On Saturday Slotkin posted that the principle should not be controversial: anyone who breaks the law or uses public money to enrich themselves should be held accountable, and anyone who did neither has nothing to worry about. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A past investigation of the same senator

The department has looked at her before. A former CIA analyst, she was one of several Democratic lawmakers with national-security careers whom it investigated over a video telling service members and intelligence staff to refuse unlawful orders from the administration.

Where the fight over oversight stands

	Position
Democrats	Won Congress on Tuesday; promise hearings and investigations into administration actions from January
Trump	Says Democratic letters and impeachment talk amount to a “criminal act”, provides no evidence
Slotkin	Says wrongdoers should be held accountable and that anyone who broke no law has nothing to fear
The Justice Department	No comment at the time of reporting

Why it matters

A president asking the Justice Department to look into members of the opposing party raises questions about whether prosecutors can be pointed at political rivals, and the post offered no named offence or evidence. Legally, lawmakers’ letters seeking documents and speeches about oversight are generally protected political activity, but the post does not say what conduct the president thinks is a crime, so the real scope of the order is unclear.

It also shows how the next two years may run. Democrats plan to use their oversight powers; the White House has just named a combative chief of staff, Stephen Miller, as we reported in our story on the appointment. For wider context, see our report on how the Democrats won Congress. What to watch is whether the Justice Department opens anything formal, whether Democrats name targets for their first hearings, and how Senate Republicans respond.