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By Hollie Silverman
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Attorney General Todd Blanche left open the possibility on Sunday that Democratic lawmakers could face a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation after President Donald Trump demanded an inquiry into what he called threats, extortion, and “lawfare” against administration officials, Republican donors, and supporters.
Blanche did not announce an investigation or identify a federal criminal statute that lawmakers were suspected of violating.
Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union, Blanche argued that recent Democratic rhetoric went beyond legitimate congressional oversight, though he declined to outline specific criminal conduct when pressed by host Dana Bash.
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“You have free speech in this country,” Blanche said. “You are allowed to be critical of President Trump, of me, of this administration. But when the threats become so vile and so dangerous...at some point you have to draw the line.”
The exchange signals an escalating clash between the Trump administration and congressional Democrats, who won control of both chambers of Congress in Tuesday's midterm elections. The shift sets up a divided government for the final two years of Trump’s term and gives Democrats subpoena power to launch investigations into the administration.
Newsweek reached out to the White House by email Sunday for comment.
Trump Demands DOJ Inquiry
In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump alleged that Democrats were threatening the U.S. attorney general and other officials with impeachment and "many other forms of punishment," as well as targeting donors "with imprisonment, and many other levels of punishment, just because they happen to be Republicans, or Republican supporters."
“This is extortion at the highest level, and they should be held accountable for this,” the president wrote. “This is Weaponization and Lawfare at another level.”
He added: “The imprisonment should be against these EXTORTIONISTS...By copy of this statement, I am ordering the Department of Justice to look into this criminal act, immediately!”
Trump focused in part on comments made by Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, who suggested that the prospect of future legal scrutiny could deter individuals from joining the administration.
“I want young people coming out of school to say, ‘Should I go work for the Trump administration? … Lord, that might be buying myself a ton of problems that I don’t want and so let me avoid participating in that,’” Slotkin said during an October 13 University of Chicago event. “I want that deterrence message.”
In a statement shared on X and emailed to Newsweek on Saturday, Slotkin rejected Trump’s accusations, saying accountability should depend on whether laws were broken, not political affiliation.
"If you break the law or use taxpayer dollars to enrich yourself, you should be held accountable," she said. "If you didn’t break the law, then it’s all good."
Clash Over Congressional Oversight
Incoming House Oversight Committee chairman Robert Garcia of California promised an “aggressive” slate of investigations targeting the administration and Trump's family. Garcia also publicly warned incoming White House chief of staff Stephen Miller to “lawyer up.”
Blanche pushed back against Garcia's comments while acknowledging the constitutional role of legislative scrutiny.
“I welcome oversight. Oversight is exactly something they should be doing.”
However, Blanche warned that the Justice Department would intervene if Democratic inquiries cross into improper targeting of White House officials.
“If they try to come after Stephen Miller for these whatever it is that Garcia thinks he’s going to do, instead of actually just conducting oversight and leading, of course the Department of Justice will be there to defend him,” the attorney general said.
Representative Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat who could become chair of the House Judiciary Committee next year, said last week during an interview appearance on MS NOW that Blanche himself could possibly face impeachment hearings.
The congressman pointed to Blanche’s inaction in the Jeffrey Epstein case and what he described as the DOJ's pursuit of the president’s perceived political enemies.
“The Department of Justice has clearly become a Department of Injustice—an instrument of revenge, political revenge for the president,” he told the network. “...This attorney general has been doing nothing other than acting in his old capacity as a personal criminal defense attorney to Donald Trump.”
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Legal Thresholds and Next Steps
Throughout Sunday's interview, Blanche stopped short of accusing Democratic lawmakers of specific crimes, stating instead that potential criminal liability would depend on individual statements.
When asked directly whether the DOJ would investigate lawmakers and whether the behavior described constituted a crime, Blanche replied: “It depends on what’s said. So yes, it could be.”
He added: “I’m not saying that necessarily every case is going to be prosecuted.”
Blanche sought to draw a line between protected political speech and actions he characterized as coercive.
When asked about Trump’s characterization of Democrats as “extortionists” who belong in prison, Blanche responded: “Well, it depends on what the crime is and what they’ve done.”
He argued that Trump was reacting to Democratic rhetoric following the midterms, adding: “That is not government. That is not leading. That is not oversight.”
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here. Contact Newsweek editors for this story: Steve Mollman and Anthony Murray.
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