This article is made possible through Spotlight PA’s partnership with NOTUS, a nonpartisan news organization that covers government and politics with the fresh eyes of early career journalists and the expertise of veteran reporters.
The Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the Democratic lawmakers who filmed a video directing military members not to follow illegal orders, several of them confirmed Wednesday.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, and Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania all reported this week that they had been contacted by the office of Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, which asked them to sit for interviews.
In fiery statements Wednesday, the lawmakers accused the Trump administration of seeking to silence its enemies and politicize the Justice Department.
“Donald Trump called for my arrest, prosecution, and execution—all because I said something he didn’t like,” Crow said in a statement to NOTUS. “Now he’s pressuring his political appointees to harass me for daring to speak up and hold him accountable. I won’t be intimidated and will keep fighting to uphold my oath to the Constitution and defend our country.”
“This investigation is ridiculous on any day, but especially so on a day the President is considering launching airstrikes against Iran in retaliation for their crack down on free speech,” Houlahan added in a post on X. “We will not be silenced.”
Other lawmakers who participated in the video include Reps. Chris Deluzio and Sen. Mark Kelly. All are veterans with the exception of Slotkin, who served three tours as a CIA analyst in Iraq.
The probe comes after the Democrats alleged last year that the FBI was conducting an investigation into their involvement with the video. It remains unclear what crime the lawmakers are suspected of violating.
The investigations are the latest apparent effort by the administration to carry out retribution against those who defy the president. The news came just days after it was revealed that Pirro’s office had launched another investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who has publicly sparred with Trump over interest rates.
In the Nov. 18 video, the six Democrats told members of the armed services that they did not need to comply with “illegal orders,” provoking President Donald Trump to suggest they could be guilty of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”
Slotkin announced Tuesday evening in a video to social media that Pirro requested an interview with her, “on top of an FBI inquiry that came in from the CounterTerrorism division late last year.”
“To be clear, this is the president’s playbook,” Slotkin continued. “The truth doesn’t matter, facts don’t matter and anyone who disagrees with him becomes an enemy, and he then weaponizes the federal government against them.”
In a video posted to X on Wednesday, Crow said Trump “picked the wrong people” to attempt to intimidate into silence.
“He’s using his cronies in the Department of Justice to continue to threaten and intimidate us,” Crow said. “But he’s picked the wrong people. We took an oath to the Constitution, a lifetime oath when we joined the military and again as members of Congress. We are not going to back away.”