By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON, Feb 11 (Reuters) – Members of the U.S. Congress learned only through press reports that President Donald Trump’s administration had tried – and failed – to have them charged and arrested, and some said on Wednesday they were considering legal action in response.
“This is not a good news story,” Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, a former astronaut and Navy veteran, told a news conference. “This is a story about how Donald Trump and his cronies are trying to break our system in order to silence anyone who lawfully speaks out against them.”
A source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday that a grand jury had rejected an attempt by the Republican president’s administration to indict the Democrats after they urged members of the military not to comply with unlawful orders.
Trump has repeatedly called for punishment of those he sees as political enemies. Since returning to the presidency in January 2025, Trump has called for imprisoning adversaries and his Justice Department has targeted critics such as former federal officials John Bolton and James Comey.
In January, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the administration threatened to indict him over congressional testimony about a Fed building project.
The six Democrats targeted in this probe served in the military or intelligence community. In November, they released a video telling members of the U.S. military they must refuse illegal orders, prompting Trump to accuse them of sedition and call them traitors who could face execution.
The White House, which called the video a threat to national security, later said the president did not want congressional Democrats executed.
The video did not reference specific incidents, but came as Democrats were sharply critical of military strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Pacific, and Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to U.S. cities.
Senate Republican Majority Leader John Thune later told reporters he thought the video was “a really dumb move” but said he did not think the lawmakers should be indicted, “No, I don’t think so. I mean, that wouldn’t have been my response to that, but we are where we are.”
MORE LAWSUITS POSSIBLE
Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, a former intelligence analyst and Iraq war veteran, said at the news conference she was leaving her options open when asked whether she planned to file suit.
She said the lawmakers did not know what charges the Department of Justice sought against them. “If things had gone a different way, we’d be preparing for arrest,” Slotkin said.
She said the government had opened an inquiry in December, carried it forward into January and, when the lawmakers refused to sit for a voluntary interview, went to a grand jury.
Slotkin said she had asked U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and other officials to preserve documents related to the investigation and provide confirmation that the probe is over.
Separately, a lawyer for Representative Jason Crow of Colorado, a former Army Ranger who completed three tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, demanded that Pirro stop pursuing the probe and also preserve documents.
The attorney, Abbe Lowell, said the case could violate Crow’s free-speech rights under the U.S. Constitution and legal protections for members of Congress, according to a copy of the letter seen by Reuters.
Kelly has sued Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, saying proceedings to demote him from his retired Navy captain rank over the video violated free-speech rights.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; additional reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Andrea Ricci )
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