WASHINGTON — Anticipating the partisan battles to come, the White House fired a warning shot Wednesday at the top House Democratic investigator.
The Trump administration is “monitoring” Democrats’ “abusive and capricious threats” to launch investigations into Congress, White House counsel Will Scharf said in a letter to California Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia, who is set to become chairman of the powerful Oversight Committee starting in January.
And, Scharf warned, these threats could be criminal and warrant their own investigations within the executive branch. His letter was shared with NBC News by a White House official.
Although threats of political retaliation following partisan investigations are commonplace, the suggestion that a congressional investigation constitutes a criminal act is not.
When President Joe Biden occupied the White House and Republicans took control of Congress, Democrats cried foul, claiming that Trump’s allies were only interested in launching partisan investigations that harmed their political enemies.
But these high-profile investigations have continued unhindered. House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has led investigations into the international business dealings of Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, and his brother James Biden.
In the letter dated Monday, Scharf cited numerous examples of Democratic lawmakers cavalierly threatening to issue subpoenas. For example, Rep. Analilia Mejia, D-N.J., wrote on
The White House pointed to Supreme Court rulings that congressional investigations must be related to a legitimate legislative purpose and should not be used to punish political opponents. But House and Senate committees from both parties have broad powers to investigate a range of issues, and they have rarely been stopped by the courts.
Likely House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., called Scharf’s letter “outrageous,” telling reporters on Capitol Hill on Wednesday: “It’s factually inaccurate.” It’s incorrect legally, and it’s incorrect constitutionally. »
“A Democratic Congress will be a check and balance on an out-of-control executive branch in the face of unprecedented corruption that it has unleashed on the American people. And if they don’t like it, consult the Constitution,” Jeffries said.
Scharf, in his letter, accuses Democrats of seeking “to abuse the legislative process to intimidate and interfere with the lawful operation of government,” adding that “threats against executive branch officials intended to dissuade them from public service, or processes intended simply to abuse or instill fear in the recipient may cross the line into blatant criminality.”
Trump himself has used his power to target his political enemies. A year ago, the president accused Democrats of criminality, saying on social media that a video posted by Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and other Democrats telling the military not to follow illegal orders amounted to “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”
The Trump administration failed to secure indictments against those Democrats over the video, and a judge later ruled that their speech was protected by the First Amendment in blocking the Pentagon’s attempt to punish Kelly.
The president has also publicly called on his Justice Department to investigate Democrats who have investigated his family and business dealings, including Sen. Adam Schiff, Democrat of California, former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
In response to Scharf’s letter, Garcia invoked the separation of powers in a statement and said newly empowered congressional Democrats would stay the course in their investigations of the president and his administration.
“It appears Donald Trump has something to hide. Let’s be clear: Congress’s authority comes from Article I of the Constitution, not authorization from the White House. Congress has broad latitude to conduct investigations and oversight, an authority inherent in the power to legislate,” Garcia said in a statement.
Garcia and other Democrats who will lead congressional committees starting in January have made no secret of their interest in investigating Trump, as well as his family, businesses and administration.
As NBC News reported this month, the White House was preparing to defend itself even before Election Day, hiring staff in the council’s office, while some current and former aides hired lawyers.
“The American people voted overwhelmingly for us to pass laws to root out corruption and abuse,” Garcia said. “The Trump administration continues to weaponize the government with threats of unconstitutional attacks on Congress. We are a co-equal branch of government and will not be deterred by baseless threats from an armed Justice Department or the president’s lawyers.”
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