Trump orders DOJ to investigate Democrats over alleged threats

President Trump said Saturday that he had ordered the Justice Department to investigate Democratic lawmakers over what he described as threats against Republican officials, donors and supporters. He offered no evidence for the claim and did not identify the letters, senders or recipients he said were involved.

In a social media post, Trump said Democrats were threatening people, including members of his Cabinet, with impeachment and other punishment. He called that extortion and a criminal act and said the Justice Department should look into it immediately. He also accused some Democrats of targeting his donors because of their political views.

The president singled out Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan. Reporting on the post linked that attack to remarks she made in October, when she said she wanted young people to think twice about taking jobs in the Trump administration. Slotkin has said she and her staff faced intimidation after she and other Democrats appeared in a 2025 video urging service members to refuse illegal orders. A federal grand jury later declined to indict participants in that video.

Democrats, who won control of both the House and Senate in Tuesday's midterm elections, have said they intend to use committee powers next year to investigate the administration, including immigration enforcement and other officials. Those planned inquiries are a political fight over oversight, not themselves proof of criminal threats.

An order from the president to the Justice Department is not the same as a completed investigation, criminal charges or a finding that anyone broke the law. No public evidence of the alleged threatening letters has been produced.