Justice Department Does Not File Indictment in Democrats’ Controversial Military Orders Video Case

Justice Department : The Trump administration attempted but failed to prosecute Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday over a video advising military and intelligence personnel not to follow illegal instructions, according to three sources familiar with the case.

Six Democrats appeared in the video, and some have stated that they will not comply with the Justice Department’s investigation into their role.

The indictment, filed by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, which is managed by Trump appointee Jeanine Pirro, is the latest example of the Justice Department targeting the president’s perceived political opponents. The government attorneys assigned to the matter are political appointees rather than career Justice Department prosecutors, according to a person familiar with the probe.

A Justice Department spokesperson and a spokesman for the US Attorney’s Office did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Tuesday night.

The FBI had requested interviews with the six members of Congress shown in the video, which was shared on social media in November: Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, as well as Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin from Michigan.

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The senators, all of whom have served in the military or in intelligence roles, stated in the film that the Trump administration is pitting military and intelligence personnel “against American citizens.”

They then emphasized that public employees can oppose illegal orders. “Now, more than ever, the American people need you,” the politicians say in the film. “Don’t give up the ship.”

According to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, members of the military must obey only authorized instructions and refuse those that are clearly illegal.

On his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump accused Democratic lawmakers of “seditious behavior, punishable by death!” at the time. Legal experts generally agree that prosecuting members of Congress for political speech raises major First Amendment concerns.

In addition to First Amendment concerns, the Constitution’s “speech or debate” clause protects members on Capitol Hill from prosecution for actions committed in the legislative arena, a critical check on the constitutional division of powers.

A federal judge in a separate case is scheduled to rule in the coming days on the validity of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s actions against Kelly in connection with the video. Hegseth issued a formal letter of censure last month and is attempting to lower Kelly’s retirement rank as a Navy captain.

“It wasn’t enough for Pete Hegseth to censure me and threaten to demote me, now it appears they tried to have me charged with a crime — all because of something I said that they didn’t like,” Kelly told reporters on Tuesday night. “That isn’t how things work in America. Donald Trump wants all Americans to be too afraid to speak out against him. “The most patriotic thing any of us can do is not give up.”

Slotkin, one of the lawmakers who refused to participate with the Justice Department’s inquiry, expressed hope that Tuesday’s grand jury action “ends this politicized investigation for good.”

Under long-standing Justice Department policy, the Public Integrity Section would ordinarily have to approve every step of an investigation into a sitting member of Congress, particularly in cases involving free expression and speech-and-debate issues. However, the Trump administration has destroyed the Public Integrity Section, removing safeguards designed to keep the Justice Department’s authority from being exploited for political gain.

The administration has previously failed to charge other perceived political opponents. After a federal judge dismissed an initial indictment against New York Attorney General Letitia James, the Justice Department was unable to persuade two separate federal grand juries that it had met the probable cause threshold: one in Norfolk, Virginia, on December 4 and one in Alexandria, Virginia, on December 11.

Under Pirro, a former Fox News host and longtime Trump supporter, the US attorney’s office has also failed to get indictments and convictions, such as when a jury acquitted a man who threw a Subway sandwich at a federal officer patrolling Washington on Trump’s instructions.

Federal grand juries seldom find that prosecutors failed to achieve the probable cause requirement for an indictment.

The Justice Department’s investigation into Democrats’ videos has sparked legal debate.

The Justice Department’s investigation of six Democratic senators over a video instructing military and intelligence professionals to defy illegal orders has generated serious constitutional concerns. Legal experts say that pursuing charges relating to political speech could raise severe First Amendment difficulties and contradict the Constitution’s “speech or debate” safeguards for members of Congress.