The White House is firing back at House Democrats ahead of the investigations they have promised once they take control of Congress in January. It warned in a new letter that some of their planned probes may break the law.
White House Counsel Will Scharf sent the letter on Monday to Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, who is expected to chair the panel next year. The letter was made public Wednesday after Punchbowl News first reported it.
Scharf argued that Congress may only investigate matters tied to a legitimate legislative purpose. He said Democrats’ comments since the midterms make it plain that their investigations are meant to harass and aggrandize rather than to write laws.
He warned that threats against executive branch officials meant to scare them away from public service, or legal process meant only to abuse or intimidate, “may cross the line into blatant criminality.”
Scharf also said the White House may respond by opening its own investigations into Democratic lawmakers who issue subpoenas or back the probes.
The letter is the clearest sign yet that the administration does not plan to cooperate with Democratic investigations it views as politically driven. That sets the stage for two years of legal battles over congressional oversight.
Garcia, who told Trump officials to “lawyer up” after Democrats won the House and Senate last week, dismissed the warning.
“It appears Donald Trump has something to hide,” Garcia said in a statement.
He argued that Congress has wide latitude to investigate as part of its power to legislate and does not need permission from the White House.
Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., another member of the Oversight Committee, offered a blunter message to any administration official considering a counter-investigation: “Come at me, bro.”
Democrats have signaled a long list of targets. They include Trump’s White House ballroom and other construction projects in Washington, the Trump family’s role in mineral deals, the president’s cryptocurrency dealings with special envoy Steve Witkoff, and his pardons.
The president raised the legislative-purpose argument in a Truth Social post on Saturday. During a stop in Missouri this week, however, he struck a softer tone. He acknowledged that Congress has always had oversight authority and always will, and said nothing he had said should suggest otherwise.
The Justice Department has also promised to stand behind administration officials. In an interview on Fox News on Sunday, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said anyone working in the administration who is targeted improperly by Democrats can count on him as their lawyer.
Blanche pointed to Garcia’s “lawyer up” remark and to comments from Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., about discouraging people from serving in the Trump administration. He did not confirm whether any investigation into lawmakers had begun.
The White House has long denied any wrongdoing by the president or his administration.
Republicans have used the legislative-purpose argument against Democratic investigators in the past, and some of the administration’s legal positions could be tested in court once the new Congress is seated in January.
