President Donald Trump said Saturday that he had directed the Justice Department to investigate what he described as threats by Democratic lawmakers to impeach Attorney General Todd Blanche and other officials.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Democrats were threatening officials with impeachment and other penalties despite, in his view, having no grounds to do so. His announcement followed midterm elections in which Democrats won majorities in both the House and Senate.
Since Election Day, Democratic Reps. Hank Johnson of Georgia and Deborah Ross of North Carolina have said they would back impeachment proceedings against Blanche. Johnson said in a radio interview Thursday that he believed Blanche’s conduct warranted impeachment, conviction and removal from office. Ross voiced support for impeaching him too, but said Democrats should begin with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Trump rejected the idea that Blanche or other administration officials had committed impeachable offenses. He did not name Johnson or Ross in his post. Nor did he mention Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who is expected to bring forward impeachment articles against Hegseth again on Monday.
Trump singled out Michigan Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin, accusing her of wanting to target young people who hold Republican views. He appeared to be referring to remarks Slotkin made at the University of Chicago on Oct. 13, when she spoke about pursuing high-profile cases against people she said had enabled Trump.
Slotkin said she wanted young people considering jobs in the Trump administration to think carefully about the possible consequences, describing that as a deterrent.
Trump also accused Democrats of threatening Republican donors with prison because of their political views, though he did not identify anyone he believed had been targeted. Democrats have said they intend to investigate some major Republican donors and companies after taking control of Congress, including, potentially, donors to a planned White House ballroom.
Trump ended his post by calling the alleged threats extortion and urging the Justice Department to investigate them as a crime.
