The White House has written a threatening letter to the incoming House Oversight Committee chair, warning that potential Democratic investigations may amount to “blatant criminality.”
The panicky letter, from White House counsel Will Scharf to California Rep. Robert Garcia, said the administration was monitoring the “abuse and capricious threats” Democrats were making about the probes they plan to launchonce they regain control of Congress in January.
The letter, obtained by Punchbowl News, claims that congressional Democrats have asserted they will issue subpoenas to “harass, threaten and deter” Trump administration officials from carrying out their duties. It also reminds Garcia that Congress can investigate matters only for a legislative purpose.
President Donald Trump, his family,and several other top officials in the Pentagon, DHS, DOJ, and ICE are among those who could be targeted by a barrage of investigationsonce Democrats take control of Congress. In a two-word statement following the midterms, Garcia warned the Trump administration: “Lawyer up.”
Rep. Robert Garcia will become House Oversight Committee chair when Democrats regain control of the lower chamber in January.
“Abusive threats and public statements about the indiscriminate issuance of subpoenas, along with threats directed at prospective targets within the Administration make it abundantly clear that any forthcoming investigative processes will be deployed to harass and aggrandize, rather than to advance any legitimate legislative end,” Scharf wrote.
“Beyond being inconsistent with the clear, well-recognized constitutional limitations on your investigative functions, threats to executive branch officials designed to deter them from public service, or process designed merely to abuse or instill fear in the recipient may cross the line into blatant criminality,” Scharf said. “And issuing unlawful subpoenas with the intention of depriving citizens of their constitutional rights and privileges may warrant further investigation.”
Scharf added that the Trump administration would not be “extorted” by Democrats or “cowed by unlawful process motivated by animus, pettiness, hatred, or any other unlawful motive to intimidate, penalize, or interfere with the lawful functioning of government.”
The letter was written days after Trump published a Truth Social post complaining that Democrats were gearing up to launch impeachment attempts against his administration, even though “they have no reason to do so.”
“This is extortion at the highest level, and they should be held accountable for this,” the 80-year-old president posted on Nov. 7.
On Tuesday, an attempt to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the Iran war failed in the GOP-controlled House, after nearly a dozen Democrats missed the vote.
The letter and threats from Trump and the White House are a worrying indication that the administration will be unwilling to cooperate with investigations or those conducting them.
However, as Punchbowl’s Jake Sherman noted, this is “unlikely” to deter Democrats once they take control of Congress.
“There is ample precedent that Congress can investigate nearly anything it wants,” Sherman wrote. “But this does set the tone for Trump’s posture toward Democrats in 2027.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and Rep. Robert Garcia’s office for comment.
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