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By Oliver Trapnell and Hollie Silverman
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U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz of the Southern District of Texas demanded in a letter on Sunday that Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren preserve records connected to prospective congressional investigations of people and companies associated with President Donald Trump, citing two federal criminal civil-rights statutes, 18 U.S.C. §§ 241 and 242.
Reitz had already issued public warnings last week under Title 18 to Democratic Senators Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan—instructing them to preserve documents related to various public statements they have made.
In his X post directed at Warren, Reitz accused the senator of misusing her committee authority.
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"@SenWarren is on the warpath to wield her committee gavel like a tomahawk, seeking the scalps of those who associate 'too closely' with President Trump," he wrote Sunday. "Congressional investigations can't be used to punish Americans for exercising their 1A [First Amendment] rights. My first arrow shot."
In his post, Reitz included a screenshot of the letter he sent to the senator in which he referenced her recent interview on CBS News' Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan. During that interview, Warren, the incoming Senate Banking Committee chair following Democrats' sweeping victory in the midterm elections, said she planned to launch investigations into big tech CEOs and Wall Street executives who may have broken the law.
"You have said you want to bring big tech CEOs, Wall Street executives, and giant corporations who may have broken the law to face consequences," Brennan told Warren on November 8. "To be clear, is your focus going to be legislation or is it going to be investigation?"
Warren responded: "We have to do both. But I do want to be clear. If you've been making your profits by cheating American families and scamming your investors, you better get ready for some investigations, serious ones."
When asked by Brennan if she had anyone in mind to investigate, the senator said, "Anyone who has been cheating."
Warren later added: "They [Americans] are sick of a White House that wouldn't enforce the laws even when they got cheated. They are sick of a White House that dropped investigations that said, 'Oh, if you make a nice contribution to Donald Trump's ballroom,' then there won't be any enforcement of the law when you've cheated millions of American customers. That has to end."
Reitz wrote in his letter that those statements send "a strong smoke signal" that Warren intends "to target private individuals close to President Trump."
A Warren banking committee aide told Reuters on November 9 that Wall Street executives and major corporations should “preserve their documents and prepare to answer tough questions.”
Reitz on Sunday also cited a letter that Warren sent with Blumenthal and Representative Robert Garcia of California seeking information about fundraising connected to Trump's projects like the White House ballroom and raising questions about possible conflicts or quid-pro-quo arrangements. He also mentioned an earlier letter from Warren, Blumenthal and Slotkin concerning spending by major technology companies.
Blumenthal called the implied threat “baseless” in his own letter on November 11 and demanded Reitz preserve communications and other records surrounding the decision to issue the warning. Blumenthal also invoked constitutional protections for congressional legislative activity.
Under federal law, Section 241 makes it a crime for two or more people to conspire to injure, oppress, threaten or intimidate any person in the free exercise of constitutional or federally protected rights. Section 242 makes it a crime for a person acting under color of law to willfully deprive an individual of those rights. Lawmakers who fail to comply with the document preservation requests could face sanctions, penalties or other legal consequences.
A preservation demand is not a subpoena or court order and does not charge one with any crime.
Reitz warning marks the latest escalation in Trump and Warren’s yearslong feud, which has included personal attacks, clashes over economic policy and government oversight, and Warren emerging as one of Trump’s most persistent Democratic critics.
Newsweek reached out to the White House and Warren for comment on Sunday.
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Trump Team Responds
White House communications director Steven Cheung accused Warren and other Democrats of pursuing politically motivated investigations against people associated with Trump on Sunday.
“Democrats like Elizabeth Warren are looking to weaponize their positions against people who are simply close to President Trump or work with him,” he wrote on X. “This is nothing more than an extension of their political witch-hunt that has gone on for far too long.”
White House chief of staff Stephen Miller also responded on X and reposted Reitz's letter to Warren, simply writing: "18 USC 241 and 242."
The exchanges underscore escalating tensions between the Trump administration and congressional Democrats ahead of anticipated oversight battles.
Garcia, who is expected to chair the House Oversight Committee in January, told NPR on Thursday, "We're not going to be deterred, and we're certainly not going to be intimidated by Donald Trump or anyone in the administration."
What Happens Next
At the end of his letter, Reitz wrote that Warren has until 6 p.m. ET on November 23 to respond that she received his correspondence and has preserved the material he requested.
Contact Newsweek editors for this story: Tobias Meyjes, Steve Mollman and Anthony Murray.
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