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The Trump administration has fired a warning at Democrats after their midterm election victory, accusing incoming House investigators of plotting to abuse their new subpoena powers to harass and potentially prosecute the president's allies.
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administration → sign → allies
White House Counsel Will Scharf sent a three-page letter to Democratic Congressman Robert Garcia on November 9, warning that congressional investigations must serve a legitimate legislative purpose rather than be used to punish political opponents, in a letter obtained by Punchbowl News.
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investigations → send → News
'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 wrote.
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Scharf → design → criminality
The letter came after Garcia, who is expected to lead the House Oversight Committee, vowed to launch investigations into President Donald Trump's family, his administration and businesses benefiting from federal contracts.
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who → come → contracts
Scharf's letter suggests the White House is preparing to fight back.
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House → suggest → ?
He cited those comments as evidence that Democrats were threatening investigations to intimidate administration officials rather than pursue legitimate legislative goals.
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Democrats → cite → goals
The letter also referenced Garcia's accusations of criminal activity against Trump officials and his suggestion that congressional investigations could help state attorneys general obtain information for prosecutions.
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attorneys → reference → prosecutions
Scharf warned that threatening officials to deter them from public service, or issuing subpoenas intended to abuse or frighten their recipients, could cross the line into criminal conduct.
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threatening → warn → conduct
White House Counsel Will Scharf sent a three-page letter to Democratic Congressman Robert Garcia on November 9, warning that congressional investigations must serve a legitimate legislative purpose rather than be used to punish political opponents
Garcia has threatened to use congressional subpoena powers against administration officials who refuse to cooperate, while raising the possibility of impeachment proceedings against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
Democrats suffered a setback yesterday when the House voted 211-204 to send Republican Congressman Thomas Massie's impeachment resolution against Hegseth to the Judiciary Committee, effectively derailing the immediate push to remove him
'The Trump Administration expects members of Congress to discharge their investigative functions within settled constitutional limits,' he wrote.
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he → send → limits
The Administration will not be extorted and will not be 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.
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Administration → extort → government
Garcia has threatened to use congressional subpoena powers against administration officials who refuse to cooperate, while raising the possibility of impeachment proceedings against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
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who → threaten → Hegseth
On election night, the California Democrat has two words for Trump's allies, 'Lawyer up.'
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Democrat → have → allies
The warning follows a series of increasingly aggressive statements from Garcia, who outlined his plans in a November 5 interview with PBS NewsHour.
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who → follow → NewsHour
He said Democrats would begin their investigations as soon as the new Congress convenes in January, with the Trump family's financial dealings at the top of the list.
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Congress → say → list
Garcia accused the president's family of enriching themselves while ordinary Americans struggle with rising prices, pointing to Jared Kushner's $2 billion investment from Saudi Arabia and business dealings involving Trump's sons.
He also said Democrats would investigate the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, immigration enforcement and Elon Musk's DOGE operation.
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Democrats → accuse → files
Garcia said Democrats would begin their investigations as soon as the new Congress convenes in January, with the Trump family's financial dealings at the top of the list
Garcia accused the president's family of enriching themselves while ordinary Americans struggle with rising prices, pointing to Jared Kushner's $2 billion investment from Saudi Arabia and business dealings involving Trump's sons
'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 wrote
Garcia made clear he was prepared for a fight if the administration refused to cooperate.
He warned that Democrats would use their congressional contempt powers, including taking disputes to court, and could work with state attorneys general to pursue accountability.
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Democrats → say → accountability
'We're going to get to the truth regardless if the DOJ tries to stonewall for the president,' Garcia told PBS.
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Garcia → go → PBS
He also stopped short of promising a third impeachment of Trump, saying it was not currently on the House Democrats' agenda.
But he suggested Hegseth could face a different fate, saying that if the Defense Secretary refused to resign, there would be efforts to impeach him in the coming weeks and months.
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Secretary → stop → weeks
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has also thrown his support behind impeaching Hegseth, declaring himself a 'hard yes' on the effort during a November 8 appearance on ABC's This Week.
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himself → throw → Week
Jeffries accused the Defense Secretary of abusing his power, undermining national security and engineering what he called a 'reckless and costly war of choice' in Iran, adding,' Pete Hegseth has got to go.'
Other Democrats have also signaled plans to use their newfound congressional power.
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Democrats → accuse → power
Senator Ron Wyden, who is expected to lead the Senate Finance Committee, posted a one-word warning after the election: 'Subpoenas.'
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who → expect → Subpoenas
Meanwhile, Representative-Elect Richard Ojeda said he could not wait to watch Hegseth squirm during a congressional hearing, while Representative-Elect Katy Padilla Stout told witnesses to put makeup on for the cameras.
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Stout → say → cameras
Democrats suffered a setback yesterday when the House voted 211-204 to send Republican Congressman Thomas Massie's impeachment resolution against Hegseth to the Judiciary Committee, effectively derailing the immediate push to remove him.
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House → suffer → him
All 203 Democrats who voted opposed the move, while 210 Republicans backed it, with Massie the lone Republican voting against it.
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Republicans → vote → it
The Daily Mail reached out to Garcia for comment.
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Mail → reach → comment
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