Democrats Accuse Trump of ‘Harassment’ Tactic as FBI Seeks Interviews
A collection of Democrat lawmakers branded by the president as involved in “subversive conduct” have asserted that the president is using the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) against them as a “instrument to pressure and threaten congressional representatives.”
The four elected officials, along with two additional members, had produced a video encouraging American troops to disobey illegal commands – a message that provoked Trump, who wrote on social media that the group were “disloyal citizens” and thus could be jailed or even face the death penalty.
An announcement, released by congressional lawmakers Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan, and Maggie Goodlander, verified that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had reached out to the House and Senate sergeants at arms seeking discussions with them.
“No amount of intimidation or harassment will ever stop us from doing our jobs and upholding the Constitution,” they stated, adding that they had each sworn an oath “to support and defend” the Constitution of the United States.
“That oath lasts a lifetime, and we plan to honor it. We refuse to be intimidated. We will not surrender our principles,” they added.
The declaration intensifies a dispute between the Trump administration and Democratic leaders, including Arizona senator and ex-astronaut Senator Kelly and the Michigan representative Representative Slotkin, over the recorded appeal, which advised the military and intelligence services members to “refuse illegal orders.”
Slotkin said the counter-terrorism unit of the FBI had notified the lawmakers that “they are opening what appears to be an investigation targeting the six individuals” and described the action as a “scare tactic” by Trump.
“To be honest, the leader’s response and the deployment of the FBI to target us is exactly why we created the message,” she said.
“He supports utilizing the federal government to oppose those he views as opponents, and he’s willing to employ the government agencies to target dissenters. He fails to accept the rules govern his actions … which is precisely the reason we made the video, to give people some assurance that they weren’t alone as they watch this stuff unfold.”
The US Department of Defense has also said it is performing an examination of claims of improper behavior against Kelly that could, it indicated, lead to his return to military service to face court-martial proceedings.
