Trump Administration Congressional Probe Warning: White House Counsel Tells Garcia Investigations Could Cross Into 'Blatant Criminality'

WASHINGTON — The White House has warned the Democrat set to lead the House Oversight Committee that investigations targeting the Trump administration could be considered criminal and themselves worthy of investigation, Reuters reported Wednesday. In a letter sent Monday to Rep. Robert Garcia, the incoming chairman of the House Oversight Committee, White House counsel Will Scharf said the administration is "monitoring the abusive and capricious threats that are now proliferating from Democrat legislators" and said threats to officials may be deemed criminal.

"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," the letter said, according to Reuters. "And issuing unlawful subpoenas with the intention of depriving citizens of their constitutional rights and privileges may warrant further investigation." Scharf also reminded Garcia of the constitutional limits on congressional investigations and subpoenas, pointing to Supreme Court precedent that an investigation must further a legitimate legislative task, USA TODAY reported, and wrote that members of the new Congress have shown "a clear intent to transgress" those limits. The letter was not disclosed publicly until Nov. 11.

The warning lands a week after Republicans lost majorities in both houses of Congress in the midterms; a Democratic-controlled Congress will take power in January for the final two years of Donald Trump's presidency, Reuters reported. On election night, Garcia wrote a single message on X — "LAWYER UP" — and House Democrats have since signaled they may pursue investigations into Elon Musk, the Trump family's crypto fortune, Trump's construction projects, the Iran war and the actions of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, USA TODAY reported. President Trump, for his part, ordered the Justice Department on Saturday to look into Democrats for "threatening a lot of people" with impeachment and other forms of punishment, Reuters reported.

Responding to the letter on Wednesday, Garcia said the committee would continue its work despite threats from the administration, Reuters reported. "Congress' authority comes from Article I of the Constitution, not from the permission of the White House," Garcia told Politico, in a statement carried by Reason. "We are a co-equal branch of government and will not be deterred by baseless threats from a weaponized DOJ or from the President's lawyers." Legal scholars quoted by Reason were sharper: New York University law professor Ryan Goodman called the letter "legally repulsive," citing the Constitution's Speech or Debate Clause, and Princeton professor Deborah Pearlstein called it a "particularly ham-fisted stab at intimidation." No investigation of any member of Congress has been announced; the letter, and the answers to it, are where the matter stands.