Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., says federal prosecutors have opened an investigation into her role in a short video made with other Democratic lawmakers that encouraged members of the military and the intelligence community to refuse unlawful orders.
In a video statement Wednesday, Slotkin said she learned about the inquiry last week after being contacted by the office of Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. Slotkin said Pirro’s office requested an interview with her specifically because of the 90-second video.
Slotkin argued the investigation is meant to intimidate political opponents.
“To be clear, this is the president’s playbook. Truth doesn’t matter, facts don’t matter, and anyone who disagrees with him becomes an enemy. And he then weaponizes the federal government against them,” Slotkin said. “It’s legal intimidation and physical intimidation meant to get you to shut up.”
She added that she would not be deterred.
“No, I’m not going to do that because this president does not represent the views of a majority of Americans. Even if you voted for him, I do not believe that his vision of America is shared by a majority of Americans,” she said. “This country is worth fighting for.”
Pirro’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Slotkin, a former CIA officer who served in Iraq, is not the only lawmaker facing scrutiny tied to the same video, which was released in November.
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a retired Navy captain and astronaut, filed suit Monday over Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s effort to censure and demote him. The Defense Department described Kelly’s remarks in the video as “seditious statements,” while Kelly said the Pentagon’s action was “unlawful and unconstitutional.”
President Trump has previously attacked the lawmakers who appeared in the video, accusing them of “seditious behavior.” In November, he said their actions were “punishable by death,” though he later walked back the remark, saying he was not threatening them while still insisting they were “in serious trouble.”
Other participants in the video included Reps. Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, and Jason Crow of Colorado. Crow has also been contacted by federal prosecutors from the Justice Department, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Slotkin said that after Trump’s comments, she began receiving threats and was told by Capitol Police she would be placed under around-the-clock protection.
Separately, NBC News reported this week that Pirro, a Trump ally, opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Powell said Sunday that the Justice Department had threatened the Fed with a possible criminal indictment tied to his testimony before Congress last year about renovation work at the central bank’s offices.
