White House Warns Democrats in Letter: Probing the Trump Administration Could Amount to Criminality

White House counsel Will Scharf has written to Robert Garcia, the incoming chairman of the House Oversight Committee, warning that Democratic investigations of the Trump administration could be considered criminal and themselves worthy of investigation, Reuters reported on November 11. The letter was sent on November 9 and disclosed on November 11.

In the letter, Scharf reminded Garcia of the foundational limits the Constitution imposes on congressional investigations and subpoenas, which must further a legitimate legislative task, and said members of the new Congress had shown a clear intent to transgress them. The administration, he wrote, is "monitoring the abusive and capricious threats that are now proliferating from Democrat legislators" who seek to abuse the legislative process to intimidate and interfere with the lawful functioning of government.

Threats to executive-branch officials designed to deter them from public service, or process designed merely to abuse or instill fear, may cross the line into "blatant criminality," the letter said, and issuing unlawful subpoenas with the intention of depriving citizens of their constitutional rights and privileges may warrant further investigation.

The letter came after Democrats won majorities in both houses of Congress in last week's midterm elections; the new Congress takes power in January for the final two years of President Donald Trump's presidency. Garcia wrote "LAWYER UP" on social media on election night. Trump on Saturday ordered the Justice Department to look into Democrats, saying their threats of impeachment and other punishment amount to a criminal act, and Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday left open the possibility of prosecuting Democratic lawmakers.

Responding on November 11, Garcia said the committee would continue its work and would not be deterred by baseless threats from the administration. House Democrats have signaled possible investigations into Elon Musk, the Trump family's crypto fortune, Trump's construction projects, the war with Iran and the actions of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

（来源：路透社）

Source: Reuters

Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 白宫北面，2024年6月（DJTechYT 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons）