Washington ― Federal prosecutors are reportedly investigating Michigan Democratic U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin following her part in a social media video reminding members of the military and intelligence communities that they may refuse illegal military orders.
Slotkin confirmed Wednesday that the office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, requested an interview with her or her attorney last week via an email message sent to the Senate sergeant-at-arms.
Pirro’s office on Wednesday declined to confirm or deny any investigation and didn’t answer questions about what potential crime the senator is being investigated for and whether it relates to the late November viral video. The inquiry was first reported by the New York Times.
Another of the Democrats in the video, U.S. Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, confirmed that he’d also been contacted by Pirro’s office with a request for an interview.
In a video statement on Wednesday morning, Slotkin said the probe is President Donald Trump’s attempt to weaponize the government to silence her, and “I’m not going to do that.”
“This is the president’s playbook: Truth doesn’t matter. Facts don’t matter, and anyone who disagrees with him becomes an enemy, and he then weaponizes the federal government against them,” Slotkin said.
“It’s legal intimidation and physical intimidation meant to get you to shut up. He’s used it with our universities, our corporations, our legal community, and with politicians who falsely believe that doing his bidding and staying quiet will keep them safe.
“No. I’m not going to do that. Because this president does not represent the views of a majority of Americans. Even if you voted for him, I do not believe that his vision of America is shared by a majority of Americans,” added the senator from Holly.
“And right now, speaking out against the abuse of power is the most patriotic thing we can do.”
The move by Pirro comes after the FBI’s counter terrorism division last month apparently launched an inquiry into Slotkin and the five other Democratic lawmakers who created the video, with the agency requesting voluntary interviews with each member.
The video by the six Democrats that was organized by Slotkin infuriated Trump the week before Thanksgiving, with the president accusing them of sedition and calling for their arrest, prosecution and possible execution by hanging.
“SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” Trump wrote in one post on his Truth Social platform.
Slotkin said Wednesday that after the president tweeted a dozen times about the Democrats’ video, she received over 1,000 threats, prompting a 24-7 security detail, a bomb threat to her home in Holly and her parents were swatted in the middle of the night.
Slotkin and the other lawmakers have emphasized that they were merely restating the law in the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which says service members may push back on illegal orders. “Legal orders should always be followed. We’re just talking about illegal orders,” Slotkin said amid the furor.
Slotkin highlighted similar remarks by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in 2016, in which Hegseth said the U.S. military “won’t follow unlawful orders from their commander in chief” and noted the refusal of illegal commands as a part of the military’s ethos and standards, CNN first reported. Hegseth served in the Army and the National Guard.
Hegseth has dubbed the group of Democrats the “Seditious Six” and claimed they’re spreading “despicable, reckless, and false” information. He said last week the Pentagon had initiated administrative actions against Arizona U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, a retired Navy captain and Democrat who took part in the video.
Slotkin has warned in remarks over the last year that Trump is making moves out of an “authoritarian playbook.”
Last fall, Slotkin said that, given his use of force in Latin America and elsewhere, she’s concerned the president plans to similarly use lethal force and the power of the federal government to target his enemies at home or groups declared to be domestic terrorists inside the U.S., pointing to an executive order on domestic terrorism that Trump issued in September.
“If he keeps a secret list of groups that we’re going after in the Caribbean, are we going to also have a secret list of domestic terrorist organizations? And then what exactly is he going to do to target those organizations?” she said in October.
“Of course, he’s floated and his advisors have floated things like (the Democratic groups) Indivisible and Act Blue ― like, political opponents. … To me, it’s the implication for domestic groups that should send a shiver down the spine of every American.”
Slotkin, in an October speech at the Brookings Institution, expanded on these concerns, saying she believes Trump would do this to ensure he and his allies never have to give up power.
She said, in theory, people on this secret enemies list could be wiretapped, their homes could be searched, or they could be arrested for disagreeing with Trump’s agenda. She pointed to his creation of two “weaponization” working groups ― including members of the intelligence community ― to go after Trump’s perceived enemies.
“I never thought I’d have to lay this out about my own government,” she said. “This is the kind of stuff that is fundamentally un-American and strikes at the heart of who we are as a people.”
In early December, Slotkin formed a legal defense fund as she braced for a possible federal probe.
Members of Congress may establish a legal defense fund to help defend themselves when they face potential trouble with the law or ethical violations related to their congressional service. The creation of such a fund requires the approval of the bipartisan Senate Ethics Committee, which oversees them and requires quarterly reports on their activities.
