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Democracy & Rule of Law · Report · File No. 261113-013

Blanche says DOJ has no probes into Democrats' words as Trump again seeks charges

The attorney general said Thursday the Justice Department is not investigating what lawmakers have said. Hours earlier, President Trump called again for six Democrats to be prosecuted over a video.

By the Investigations Desk · · 2 min read

Every quote in this story (2) was matched word for word against its source. How we work

My clippings
Todd Blanche
Todd Blanche. Photo: Ryan M. Biller, Public domain

Attorney General Todd Blanche said Thursday that the Justice Department has no criminal investigations into words spoken by senators or members of Congress. He spoke at a news conference in Washington 1.

The same morning, President Trump again called for six Democratic members of Congress to be prosecuted over a social media video they posted last year. In it, they told members of the intelligence and military communities not to obey unlawful orders 1.

On tapeForbes Breaking News · Nov 12
Thursday press briefing: Blanche says DOJ has charged nearly 300 people with illegal voting and has hundreds of ongoing election-fraud investigations.Video: Forbes Breaking News on YouTube, “Todd Blanche Says DOJ Election Fraud Investigations Were Not 'Expected' To Stop After Midterms”. It plays from YouTube when you press play.
Todd Blanche
There’s no ongoing investigations, criminal investigations, into words that incoming senators or congressmen have said
Todd Blanche, Attorney General, Republican1

Trump posted on his social media site asking whether the six lawmakers would ever be prosecuted 1. The administration already tried to indict the lawmakers earlier this year. A federal grand jury in Washington unanimously rejected the charges 1.

A narrow denial

Blanche's wording was specific. He spoke of words said by "incoming senators or congressmen," and he did not say the department had dropped the matter 1. He also warned that "there can come a point when a criticism becomes a threat, and then when a threat becomes something criminal" 1.

From Channel GOPBlanche says senator's warnings could be a crimeTodd Blanche · 393 plays · captioned, with the source named

Democrats won the majority in both the House and the Senate in last week's midterm election 1. Earlier this week, the White House warned congressional Democrats that investigating the administration could be a crime 1.

The Blumenthal letter

On Wednesday, a top federal prosecutor sent a letter to Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat. It suggested he was under a civil rights investigation for his congressional probe of donors to Trump's White House ballroom 1.

The prosecutor is Aaron Reitz, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas. He recently got that job after losing his race for attorney general. He demanded that Blumenthal preserve records and alleged the probe was harassment of citizens 1.

Blumenthal said he would not be intimidated and would continue investigating the ballroom 1. Blanche called Reitz a "great U.S. attorney." He did not explain why a Texas prosecutor would investigate a Washington lawmaker from Connecticut. He also did not say whether he had approved the letter 1.

On Sunday, Blanche had declined to confirm an investigation or name targets when asked about probing lawmakers. He said the answer would depend on what was said and whether it amounted to a crime 2. He also told Fox News that administration employees have a lawyer, and that lawyer is him 2.

Slotkin responds

Trump last week ordered the Justice Department to investigate Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan. He claimed her remarks at a school amounted to a "criminal act." Slotkin is also one of the six lawmakers prosecutors failed to indict over the video 1.

An attorney for Slotkin wrote to Blanche this week asking the department to stop "threatening our constitutional freedoms" 1. Slotkin answered Trump directly on X on Thursday.

Elissa Slotkin
So I say to President Trump and his Attorney General: Bring it.
Elissa Slotkin, U.S. Senator, Democrat-Michigan1

What happens next is unclear. Democrats are expected to control both chambers of Congress in January 2. They have said they will use that power to investigate the administration.

That matters because the question is no longer only whether a probe exists today. It is whether lawmakers can do oversight work without fearing a prosecutor's letter. Blanche's statement does not answer that.

The Record

  1. Blanche declines to confirm or rule out investigations of Democratic lawmakers, saying it depends on whether words amount to a crime 2.
  2. U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz sends Sen. Richard Blumenthal a letter demanding he preserve ballroom-probe records 1.
  3. Blanche says there are no criminal investigations into lawmakers' words, hours after Trump again calls for the six Democratic lawmakers to be prosecuted 1.
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Sources

  1. NBC News, “DOJ has no ‘investigations into words’ of Democrats, Todd Blanche says” (2026-11-12). nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/doj-no-investigation
  2. WJLA, “Blanche says DOJ will defend Trump officials as Democrats prepare investigations” (2026-11-08). wjla.com/news/nation-world/blanche-says-doj-will-defend-trum

Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.

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