Prosecutors have been repeatedly caught between the president’s insistence that they undertake weak or baseless cases and the necessity of having to go to court.
Prosecutors have been repeatedly caught between the president’s insistence that they undertake weak or baseless cases and the necessity of having to go to court.
Senators Elissa Slotkin and Mark Kelly were among the Democratic lawmakers targeted by federal prosecutors after recording a video informing troops that they could refuse illegal orders.
“If the executive branch can merely attempt to prosecute members of the legislative branch for simply exercising free speech, that is not a Democratic problem or a Republican problem, it is a constitutional crisis,” said Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the minority leader.
The Justice Department investigation was an escalation in the administration’s response to a video that President Trump said was “punishable by death.”
The Justice Department investigation was an escalation in the administration’s response to a video that President Trump said was “punishable by death.”
The lawmakers, all Democrats who urged military service members not to follow illegal orders, said prosecutors had contacted them. But it is unclear what crime they might have committed.
The lawmakers, all Democrats who urged military service members not to follow illegal orders, said prosecutors had contacted them. But it is unclear what crime they might have committed.
Representative Jason Crow of Colorado, one of the lawmakers being investigated, said President Trump was “using his political cronies in the Department of Justice to continue to threaten and intimidate us.”
The F.B.I. inquiry is being conducted by the bureau’s counterterrorism division, according to a statement by Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, who served as a C.I.A. analyst and organized the video.
Anmelden
