The White House has warned the incoming chairman of the House Oversight Committee that Democratic investigations of the Trump administration “may cross the line into blatant criminality.” White House counsel Will Scharf made the warning in a letter to Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., that became public on Wednesday, Nov. 11, CBS News reported.[1] Garcia is set to chair the committee when Democrats take control of the House in January.[1]
The same day, a federal prosecutor in Texas demanded that Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., preserve documents from his inquiry into donors to the White House ballroom, NBC News reported.[2]
Related: Jeffries Says “America Is Back” as House Democrats Plan Trump Investigations and a Tariff Rollback.
What the White House letter says
The letter is dated Monday, Nov. 9.[1] A White House official shared it with NBC News.[3] In it, Scharf said the administration is “monitoring” what he called Democrats’ “abusive and capricious threats” to open probes.[3]
Scharf reminded Garcia that congressional investigations must serve a “legitimate legislative purpose.”[1] He wrote that “issuing unlawful subpoenas with the intention of depriving citizens of their constitutional rights and privileges may warrant further investigation.”[1]
The letter quoted Democratic lawmakers who had previewed aggressive use of subpoenas.[3] Rep. Analilia Mejia, D-N.J., had written on X that Democrats would “toss out subpoenas like Mardi Gras beads.”[3] Rep. Emily Randall, D-Wash., said subpoenas would be passed out “like candy.”[3]
Democrats respond
“It appears Donald Trump has something to hide,” Garcia said in a statement.[1] “We are a co-equal branch of government and will not be deterred by baseless threats from a weaponized DOJ or from the President’s lawyers,” he said.[1]
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who is poised to become speaker in January, called the letter “outrageous.”[3] “If they don’t like it, consult the Constitution,” Jeffries told reporters.[3]
Molly Nixon, a senior fellow in executive power at the Cato Institute, told CBS News the warnings may be more political than legal.[1] Any prosecution of lawmakers would face obstacles under the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause.[1] Courts have rarely stopped congressional committees from investigating.[3]
Prosecutor targets Blumenthal’s ballroom inquiry
Aaron Reitz, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas, sent the letter to Blumenthal, NBC News reported.[2] Reitz alleged that the senator’s inquiry amounted to threatening “citizens for associating themselves with the President and other public officials.”[2] He warned of “significant legal consequences” if Blumenthal did not preserve the records.[2] The letter cited the federal statutes on conspiracy against rights and deprivation of rights under color of law.[2]
Blumenthal is the top Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.[2] Last month he wrote to people a Washington Post report identified as private donors to the roughly $400 million ballroom project.[2] A Justice Department spokesperson said the department “routinely requests that records be preserved when public officials take such extreme actions.”[2]
Blumenthal said he “will not be intimidated.”[2] On Wednesday night he sent Reitz his own request to preserve records, including any communications with the White House about the letter.[2] The Boston Report has not independently reviewed the Reitz letter.
What comes next
Democrats will control both chambers when the new Congress begins in January, giving their committees subpoena power.[1] Garcia and other incoming chairs have said they plan to investigate the president, his family, his businesses and his administration.[3] The Boston Report’s Congress tracker follows the transition, and more coverage is on the Politics and Government hub.
Sources
- CBS News: Top White House lawyer warns of “blatant criminality” in Democrats’ investigations push
- NBC News: U.S. attorney demands Sen. Richard Blumenthal preserve documents from his inquiry into White House ballroom
- NBC News: White House warns congressional Democrats: Investigating us may be a crime
Read next in Politics
Most read this week
- Kremlin Names Abu Dhabi Team as Ukraine Sets Security and Prisoner Priorities
- Drones Kill Workers at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear and Thermal Plants, IAEA Says, as Russian Strikes Hit 5 Substations
- Fall Out Boy Will Play Fenway Park on July 30, 2027, With The Offspring, Good Charlotte and The Story So Far
- Nvidia Board Hires Wachtell’s Joon Kim to Lead Huang Probe as Shares Fall 5.47% and an Investor Sues
- Senior U.S. Army Soldier Arrested in England on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Latest
- Sutton Residents Push Back on $16 Billion Kraft-Backed Data Center Campus
- Israeli Strike on Gaza’s Nasser Hospital Kills Six, Including a Surgeon, Health Ministry Says
- Walpole’s Cam Schlittler Wins Unanimous AL Cy Young as Misiorowski Sweeps the NL Vote
- U.S. Envoys Witkoff and Kushner Hold Talks With Putin in Moscow, Then Head to Dublin to Brief Zelensky
- Celtics Erase 22-Point Deficit to Beat Raptors 98-93 for Fifth Straight Win
Get The Boston Report Briefing
Our free weekly email with the most important stories from Boston and the world. Unsubscribe anytime.
Free. We never sell your address. Privacy policy