Sen. Elissa Slotkin on Wednesday confirmed she is under federal investigation for her participation in a November video urging military members not to follow illegal orders.
In a video response to the investigation, the Michigan Democrat said President Donald Trump was weaponizing the federal government against those who disagree with him. Slotkin is the latest video participant to face investigation from the administration.
“To be clear, this is the president’s playbook,” Slotkin said. “Truth doesn’t matter. Facts don’t matter, and anyone who disagrees with him becomes an enemy, and he then weaponizes the federal government against them. It’s legal intimidation and physical intimidation meant to get you to shut up.”
Slotkin, who was recruited by the CIA as a Middle East analyst and served three tours in Iraq, was among five other Democratic military veterans featured in the video, including Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Reps. Maggie Goodlander (N.H.), Jason Crow (Colo.), Chris Deluzio (Pa.) and Chrissy Houlahan (Pa.).
Trump at the time called the lawmakers’ actions “seditious” and said they should face trial.
Kelly this week filed a lawsuit against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other senior military leaders after his own investigation was announced and the Defense Department began to take steps to downgrade his retirement rank.
Slotkin first told The New York Times she had learned about the investigation from the office of Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. Pirro’s office told POLITICO it does not confirm or deny the existence of federal investigations.
Following Trump’s response to the November video, Slotkin on Wednesday said that threats against her and her family “went through the roof.”
“We had over 1,000 threats come in. Over 100 were credible and are being investigated,” she said. “I went on 24/7 security from Capitol Police. I had a bomb threat at my house. My parents were swatted in the middle of the night, and my siblings had cop cars placed in their driveways, and now [Trump] is using his political appointees at the FBI and the Department of Justice to follow through with his threats.”
Slotkin said that freedom of speech is “worth fighting for.”
“Right now, speaking out against the abuse of power is the most patriotic thing we can do,” she said.
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