White House tells Democrats that investigating Trump administration could be criminal

By Katharine Jackson

WASHINGTON, Nov 11 (Reuters) – The White House has warned the Democrat set to lead the House of Representatives’ oversight committee that investigations targeting the Trump administration could be considered criminal and themselves worthy of investigation.

In a letter sent Monday to the incoming chairman of the House Oversight Committee Representative Robert Garcia, White House counsel Will Scharf said the administration is “monitoring the abusive and capricious threats that are now proliferating from Democrat legislators” and said threats to officials may be deemed criminal.

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

After Republicans lost majorities in both houses of Congress in a stinging midterm election defeat last week, a Democratic-controlled Congress will take power in January for the final two years of Donald Trump’s presidency. Party leaders have promised to probe actions of the president, his family, aides and advisers and hold them accountable.

The letter said members of the new Congress had shown “a clear intent to transgress” limits set in the Constitution for congressional investigations and subpoenas.

The letter referred to multiple comments by lawmakers, including one Democrat who stated that subpoenas would be handed out like “candy” and an election night X post by Garcia that said “LAWYER UP.”

The comments “make it abundantly clear that any forthcoming investigative processes will be deployed to harass and aggrandize, rather than to advance any legitimate legislative end,” Scharf wrote.

Responding to Scharf’s letter on Wednesday, Garcia said the committee would continue its work despite threats from the administration.

“It appears Donald Trump has something to hide,” Garcia said in a statement posted on the House Oversight Democrats’ X page.

“The Trump Administration continues to weaponize the government with threats of unconstitutional attacks on Congress. 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.”

Trump ordered the US Justice Department on Saturday to look into Democrats for “threatening a lot of people” with impeachment and other forms of punishment, saying in a social media post that their actions amount to a “criminal act,” without providing evidence.

(Reporting by Katharine Jackson; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)