Photo: Alamy
Four House Democrats under investigation for a video telling U.S. service members they are not obligated to follow “illegal orders” issued by the Trump administration accused President Donald Trump on Tuesday of using the FBI to target and intimidate lawmakers.
Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, Rep. Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, Rep. Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania said in a joint statement that the FBI contacted the House and Senate sergeants-at-arms on Monday seeking interviews related to the video.
The video features the four House lawmakers along with Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, all of whom have military or intelligence backgrounds. In the clip, they appear on camera addressing active-duty troops, saying repeatedly, “You can refuse illegal orders. You must refuse illegal orders,” without defining what such orders might be.
President Trump escalated his criticism of the group on Monday in posts on Truth Social.
“THE TRAITORS THAT TOLD THE MILITARY TO DISOBEY MY ORDERS SHOULD BE IN JAIL RIGHT NOW, NOT ROAMING THE FAKE NEWS NETWORKS TRYING TO EXPLAIN THAT WHAT THEY SAID WAS OK. IT WASN’T, AND NEVER WILL BE! IT WAS SEDITION AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL, AND SEDITION IS A MAJOR CRIME. THERE CAN BE NO OTHER INTERPRETATION OF WHAT THEY SAID!” the president wrote in all caps.
“President Trump is using the FBI as a tool to intimidate and harass members of Congress,” the House Democrats said. “No amount of intimidation or harassment will ever stop us from doing our jobs and honoring our Constitution.”
“We swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. That oath lasts a lifetime, and we intend to keep it,” the statement continued. “We will not be bullied. We will never give up the ship.”
Slotkin said Tuesday that the FBI’s counterterrorism division informed the lawmakers that “they are opening what appears to be an inquiry against the six of us.” Speaking at an event in Michigan, she called the move a “scare tactic” by Trump.
Reports have also circulated that the FBI reached out to the U.S. Capitol Police to arrange interviews with the six Democrats. The FBI has not commented on the matter.