Investigate Trump DOJ’s Attempts to Indict Democrats

Donald Trump’s Justice Department just tried to criminalize dissent — and Congress must respond.

Federal prosecutors sought to indict Democratic lawmakers after they shared a video reminding service members to uphold the Constitution and refuse unlawful orders — a message Trump’s DOJ reportedly tried to treat as a crime. Thankfully, on Tuesday, a grand jury refused to bring an indictment.

Sen. Mark Kelly exposed how far this retaliation went: “It wasn’t enough for Pete Hegseth to censure me and threaten to demote me, now it appears they tried to have me charged with a crime—all because of something I said that they didn’t like,” Kelly wrote on social media. “That’s not the way things work in America.”

Reminding service members of their oath to the Constitution is not a crime. It is a reaffirmation of the rule of law. In a democracy, elected officials must be free to question policy and speak about constitutional limits — without fear of prosecution.

If the Justice Department can attempt to indict members of Congress for urging the military to follow lawful orders, what comes next? Governors? Journalists? Activists? That’s how democratic erosion begins — when political disagreement is recast as criminal conduct.

Congress has a constitutional duty to act. The House and Senate Judiciary Committees must launch immediate oversight hearings, subpoena DOJ communications related to this attempted indictment, and make clear that federal law enforcement cannot be weaponized against political opponents.

Tell Congress: Launch immediate oversight hearings into Trump’s DOJ attempts to indict Democratic lawmakers for protected speech. End the weaponization of the Justice Department and defend our democracy.