White House Issues Warning to Democrats Over Congressional Investigations

The White House on Monday asserted that potential Democrat-led congressional investigations into the Trump administration or its officials may run afoul of the law.

Writing to Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) in a Nov. 9 letter, White House counsel Will Scharf argued that Congress must “identify a legitimate legislative purpose underlying its investigative acts” and that “failure to do so … represents a clear abuse of power and an affront to our constitutional system of government and to the rule of law.”

Scharf said that “recent public statements” by Democratic legislators indicate they are allegedly trying to “abuse the legislative process to intimidate and interfere with the lawful functioning of government,” adding that Garcia and other Democratic lawmakers have signaled that they would issue subpoenas to threaten, harass, or deter the Trump administration from governing.

“Compulsory process is a power Congress has for oversight functions, and only for oversight functions,” the letter stated. “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 argued that congressional subpoenas that are “designed merely to abuse or instill fear in the recipient” may be criminal, adding that the issuance of “unlawful subpoenas with the intention of depriving citizens of their constitutional rights and privileges may warrant further investigation.”

His letter cited social media posts made by Rep.-elect Richard Ojeda (D-N.C.), Rep.-elect Katy Padilla Stout (D-Texas), and others who indicated they want to investigate the administration following last week’s midterm elections, which saw significant Democratic wins that allowed the party to recapture both houses of Congress.

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On Nov. 7, Ojeda wrote in a post on X that he “can’t wait to watch him squirm in a hearing room,” referring to Pentagon head Pete Hegseth, which was cited in Scharf’s letter. Also, Garcia himself wrote in a post on X following the election, “Lawyer up.”

Garcia, who is the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, on Wednesday morning pushed back against Scharf’s letter in a statement that was issued through his office.

“It appears Donald Trump has something to hide. Let’s be clear: Congress’ authority comes from Article I of the Constitution, not from the permission of the White House. Congress has wide latitude to conduct investigations and oversight, an authority inherent in the power to legislate,” he wrote.

Pointing to Democrats’ midterm election wins, Garcia said that he believes voters want Democrats to pass laws that are designed to root out corruption in the government.

He said that the Trump administration is still trying to weaponize the federal government and argued that Scharf’s letter itself is an attempt to pressure Congress.

“The Democrats’ attempt to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has miserably FAILED!” President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social in response to the vote.

The White House did not respond to an Epoch Times request for comment on Nov. 11.