Democratic Lawmakers Accuse Trump of Using FBI to Intimidate Them
Democratic members of Congress have accused former U.S. President Donald Trump of using the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to “intimidate” lawmakers, noting that the agency requested interviews with them after they criticized the president.
The lawmakers were among six who urged the military and intelligence personnel to refuse any “illegal orders” issued by Trump, whom they called “traitors.”
In a statement, Democrats Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Maggo Goodlander, and Chrissy Houlahan said that Trump “is using the FBI as a tool to intimidate and harass members of Congress.”
They added, “Yesterday, the FBI contacted security officers assigned to the House and Senate and requested interviews. No amount of intimidation or harassment will prevent us from carrying out our duties and upholding the Constitution.”
Earlier, the U.S. military announced on Monday that it was considering taking legal action against Senator Mark Kelly in a military court, after he appeared in a video released this month urging troops to refuse unlawful orders.
Kelly, a Navy fighter pilot and former astronaut who commanded the last Space Shuttle Endeavour mission, responded that he would not allow “bullies to silence him.”
Another senator featured in the video, Elissa Slotkin, posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday that the FBI “appears to have opened an investigation into me in response to a video the president didn’t like.”
She added that “the president directing the FBI to target us is exactly why we made this video in the first place.”
The six Democrats who released the video did not specify the exact orders they were referring to, but Trump had deployed the National Guard to several U.S. cities during local protests, claiming it was to control “unrest.”
Trump initially accused the group of engaging in “incitement punishable by death.” Over the weekend, he posted on social media that the “traitors” who urged soldiers to disobey should be imprisoned.
