White House warns Democrats over planned Trump administration probes

The White House has stepped up its warnings to Democratic Representative Robert Garcia, the nominee to chair the House Oversight Committee, over planned investigations into former President Donald Trump's administration, suggesting that some investigative actions could be considered criminal offenses subject to prosecution.

In a letter sent Monday, White House legal counsel Will Scharf warned Garcia that the administration is monitoring what he described as arbitrary and capricious threats from Democratic lawmakers, noting that threats directed at executive branch officials could rise to the level of criminal acts.

Scharf explained in his letter that using threats to pressure executive officials or to force them to abandon their official duties, as well as employing parliamentary procedures to intimidate or harass, could cross the line from legitimate political practice to outright criminality.

He also noted that issuing subpoenas he described as unlawful, if intended to violate citizens' constitutional rights and privileges, could open the door to further investigations into those actions.

This escalation comes as Democrats prepare to regain control of Congress in January, following the Republicans' loss of their majorities in both the House and Senate in last week's midterm elections. The shift gives the opposition an opportunity to lead oversight committees and scrutinize the Trump administration's actions during the last two years of his presidency.

Democratic Party leaders have pledged to launch investigations into the conduct of Trump, his family members, aides, and advisers, and to hold them accountable using Congress's oversight powers.

In his letter, Scharf accused incoming members of Congress of showing a clear intent to bypass constitutional limits on congressional investigations and the issuance of subpoenas, citing statements from several lawmakers. Among them was a Democratic congresswoman's remark about handing out subpoenas "like candy," as well as a post by Garcia on X on election night urging those concerned to seek legal counsel.

The White House counsel argued that such statements indicate a trend toward using upcoming investigations for harassment and political showmanship, rather than for legitimate legislative and oversight purposes.

For his part, Garcia refused to back down from the committee's plans, stating in a response posted Wednesday on the House Democrats' Oversight Committee account on X that the committee's work would continue despite the administration's warnings.

Garcia said that Trump's continued threats against Congress suggest, in his view, that the administration has something to hide, accusing the White House of using government institutions to pressure the legislative branch through what he called unconstitutional threats.

The Democratic lawmaker stressed that Congress is an independent and coequal branch of government, affirming that committee members would not back down in the face of what he described as legally baseless threats.

The White House's stance follows an escalation initiated by Trump on Saturday, when he directed the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Democrats, accusing them of threatening individuals through calls for his impeachment and other forms of accountability.

In a social media post, Trump claimed these moves could amount to criminal acts, though he provided no evidence to support his allegations.