The White House is warning House Democrats that the investigations they plan to launch when they take control of Congress in January could themselves be treated as a crime.
In a letter dated Monday, White House counsel Will Scharf told Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, that some of the probes Democrats have promised “may cross the line into blatant criminality.” Garcia is expected to chair the committee in the new Democratic-controlled House. Punchbowl News first reported the letter on Wednesday, and The Associated Press and HuffPost also reported its contents.
What the letter says
Scharf argues that Congress may investigate only in service of a legitimate legislative purpose, and he accuses Democrats of planning investigations designed to “harass and aggrandize rather than to advance any legitimate legislative end.”
The key passage reads:
“Beyond being inconsistent with the clear, well-recognized constitutional limitations on your investigative functions, 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. And issuing unlawful subpoenas with the intention of depriving citizens of their constitutional rights and privileges may warrant further investigation.”
According to HuffPost, Scharf pointed to Garcia’s public comments, including his statement that administration officials should “lawyer up,” as evidence that Democrats’ motives are improper.
Garcia fires back
Garcia was unmoved. “It appears Donald Trump has something to hide,” he said in a statement. “Let’s be clear: Congress’ authority comes from Article I of the Constitution, not from the permission of the White House. Congress has wide latitude to conduct investigations and oversight, an authority inherent in the power to legislate.”
Part of a broader pattern
The letter follows a Truth Social post from President Donald Trump on Saturday in which he called Democrats’ threats to investigate his administration “illegal” and said he was “ordering the Department of Justice to look into this criminal act, immediately!”
Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a CNN interview that aired Sunday that “there could be” a crime to investigate if Democrats’ rhetoric turned threatening, but he has since struck a more conciliatory tone. “Congress has oversight authority. It always has, it always will,” Blanche said during an appearance in Missouri this week, according to the AP.
Why it matters
Congressional oversight of the executive branch, including subpoenas, is a standard and long-recognized function of Congress, and the Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the power to investigate is part of the legislative process. The letter is an early signal that the administration plans to resist, and possibly counterattack, the wave of investigations expected once Democrats take over both chambers in January.
Whether the warning deters anyone is another question. Democrats have shown no sign of backing off, and the fight over subpoenas, testimony and documents is now likely to define the next two years in Washington.
Sources: The Associated Press, Punchbowl News, HuffPost.