Several Congressional Democrats said Tuesday they might be under investigation by the FBI after filming an anti-Trump video urging military troops not to follow illegal orders.
“President Trump is using the FBI as a tool to intimidate and harass Members of Congress. Yesterday, the FBI contacted the House and Senate Sergeants at Arms requesting interviews,” wrote Democratic Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado and Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, alongside Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, in a joint statement. “No amount of intimidation or harassment will ever stop us from doing our jobs and honoring our Constitution.”
“The President directing the FBI to target us is exactly why we made this video in the first place. He believes in weaponizing the federal government against his perceived enemies and does not believe laws apply to him or his Cabinet,” Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) posted on social media.
The lawmakers, who all have national security or military backgrounds, appeared in a video encouraging members of the military not to obey orders they believe are unlawful, saying explicitly, “don’t give up the ship.” This message prompted a furious response from President Donald Trump, who called the video “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL” and also shared a post calling for traitors to be hanged — though White House later said Trump was not threatening the lawmakers with death.
The House Sergeant at Arms office was contacted by the FBI Monday about setting up interviews related to the six members of Congress, according to a person granted anonymity to speak freely. The matter was then passed off to the House Office of General Counsel to interact with the Justice Department, the person said. Typically, investigations related to members of Congress were handled between the Office of General Counsel and the main Justice Department, not the FBI, making the outreach somewhat unusual.
The Pentagon also announced Monday it would investigate one of the lawmakers in the video, Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, for “serious allegations of misconduct” which could result in recalling him to active duty to face a court martial alleged crimes.
The Senate and House Sergeants at Arms offices did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did a spokesperson for the FBI.
Cheyanne Daniels contributed to this report.
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