Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Thursday that the Justice Department has no ongoing criminal investigations into words spoken by senators or members of Congress.
The remarks at a Justice Department news conference followed tension between the executive branch and congressional Democrats after the midterm election.
White House counsel Will Scharf sent a letter earlier in the week to incoming House Oversight Committee chair Robert Garcia. Scharf warned that planned Democratic oversight investigations into the administration could amount to “blatant criminality” and improper attempts to serve the criminal-prosecution functions of the executive branch.
Scharf said in the letter that abusive threats, public statements about the indiscriminate issuance of subpoenas, and threats directed at prospective targets within the administration made it clear that upcoming investigative processes would be deployed to harass and aggrandize rather than to advance a legitimate legislative end. The letter also cited public statements such as Garcia’s recommendation on Election Day that potential targets should “lawyer up.”
In 2025, Ed Martin, a senior DOJ official, amplified a post that read, “Lawyer up, Lawfare Democrats.” @AGToddBlanche do you plan to criminally investigate @EagleEdMartin? pic.twitter.com/1oDg5X66YX
Garcia dismissed the warning in a statement reported by Newsweek, declaring that the committee “will not be deterred” by the message from the White House.
“Congress’ authority comes from Article I of the Constitution, not from the permission of the White House,” Garcia wrote in a reply, adding that lawmakers “will not be deterred by baseless threats from a weaponized DOJ or from the President’s lawyers.”
Other lawmakers also responded to the White House warnings. Massachusetts Democratic Representative Stephen Lynch said, Come at me, bro, and said that conducting oversight is the core function of Congress. Representative-elect Becca Balint of Vermont called the administration’s attempt to intimidate Democrats “so silly” and “pathetic.”
Blanche maintained during the Thursday press conference that free speech is protected while drawing a distinction regarding potential threats.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is either complicit in massive fraud or grossly incompetent at preventing it. Though Walz is not running for governor again, he cannot run from accountability. He better lawyer up. @GOPoversight expects him to appear on February 10. @JacquiHeinrich pic.twitter.com/YwkkWocx1v
“Free speech is allowed,” Blanche said. “But there can come a point when a criticism becomes a threat, and then when a threat becomes something criminal.”
Blanche said that such a threshold had not been reached, even as President Donald Trump publicly demanded the prosecution of Democratic lawmakers over a social media video posted the prior year urging military personnel to refuse unlawful orders.
The time has come for criminal prosecutions. Comey, Clapper, Brennan, and anyone else involved better lawyer up. pic.twitter.com/PeVbWrwCnP
Trump said on social media that the Democratic lawmakers who appeared in the video committed a great violation to the country and its Constitution. The president also said that Democratic investigative threats amounted to “extortion at the highest level,” saying that legislators should be reported to the Justice Department or himself immediately and that they should go to jail.
Trump specifically called out Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan for suggesting future investigations into the administration should deter young conservatives from wanting to work for the executive branch, leading the president to order the Justice Department to investigate her.
It's been almost exactly one year since the six of us made a 90-second video simply restating the law, and the President cannot let it go. Based on that video, he ordered his then-Attorney General to ‘investigate, arrest and hang’ us for sedition. Last February, the Attorney…
Attorney General Todd Blanche said when questioned about the administration’s posture that while critics are allowed to be critical of the president and the administration, threats can eventually cross a line into criminal conduct.
Democrats have planned to pursue aggressive oversight of the Trump administration, including through subpoenas targeting ICE, the financial dealings of the Trump family, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Attorney General Todd Blanche.
Senate Democrats also sent letters to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and White House chief of staff Stephen Miller, asking their offices to preserve all communications and records related to NVIDIA chip exports to China and Huang’s affair.
President Trump's response to the American people overwhelmingly voting against rising costs and his corrupt weaponization of the government: promote @StephenM to Chief of Staff and double down on the policies that brought him the loss in the first place. And then have Stephen… pic.twitter.com/hX5I10zGED