The Federal Bureau of Investigation requested interviews with six Democrats over their video calling on military members to disobey allegedly unlawful orders from the Trump administration, according to four members of Congress.
Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan said on social media Tuesday that she had been notified by the FBI about the investigation, and a statement from lawmakers supported the claim.
‘To suggest and encourage that active-duty service members defy the chain of command is a very dangerous thing for sitting members of Congress to do.’
“Last night, the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division appeared to open an inquiry into me in response to a video President Trump did not like. The President directing the FBI to target us is exactly why we made this video in the first place,” Slotkin wrote on social media.
President Donald Trump accused the Democrat “traitors” of “seditious behavior” and at one point suggested they should be jailed and perhaps even hanged. The White House later walked that comment back, but the president continued to demand the Democrats face prosecution over the video.
“He believes in weaponizing the federal government against his perceived enemies and does not believe laws apply to him or his Cabinet. He uses legal harassment as an intimidation tactic to scare people out of speaking up,” Slotkin continued.
The statement from Democrats said the FBI contacted the House and Senate sergeants at arms and requested interviews.
“President Trump is using the FBI as a tool to intimidate and harass Members of Congress,” they wrote in the joint statement.
In an email to Blaze News, the FBI declined to comment.
“This isn’t just about a video,” Slotkin continued. “This is not the America I know, and I’m not going to let this next step from the FBI stop me from speaking up for my country and our Constitution.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that the president did not want the members to be executed.
“To suggest and encourage that active-duty service members defy the chain of command is a very dangerous thing for sitting members of Congress to do,” she added. “And they should be held accountable. And that’s what the president wants to see.”
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On Monday, the Department of War released a statement indicating that investigators were reviewing misconduct allegations against Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and that he might face “court-martial proceedings or administrative measures” as a result.
Kelly responded on social media.
“If this is meant to intimidate me and other members of Congress from doing our jobs and holding this administration accountable, it won’t work,” he replied.
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