Democrats Say Trump Is Using FBI to Intimidate Lawmakers

A political storm erupted in Washington on Tuesday after several Democratic lawmakers accused President Donald Trump of weaponizing the FBI to intimidate members of Congress who publicly criticized him.

The controversy centers on six Democratic legislators who recently appeared in a video urging U.S. military and intelligence personnel to refuse any “illegal orders” from the president. Trump responded by branding them “traitors.”

In a joint statement, Representatives Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander and Chrissy Houlahan said the FBI contacted the House and Senate Sergeants at Arms requesting interviews with them.

“President Trump is using the FBI as a tool to intimidate and harass Members of Congress,” the group said. “No amount of intimidation or harassment will ever stop us from doing our jobs and honoring our Constitution.”

The FBI declined to comment on the matter, while the White House did not immediately respond to inquiries.

The tension escalated further after the U.S. military confirmed it was considering a court-martial against Democratic senator and former astronaut Mark Kelly, who also featured in the video. Kelly — a Navy combat veteran who commanded the Space Shuttle Endeavour’s final mission — dismissed the move, saying he would not be intimidated or “silenced by bullies.”

Senator Elissa Slotkin, another participant, said on X that the FBI “appeared to open an inquiry into me in response to a video President Trump did not like.”
“The President directing the FBI to target us is exactly why we made this video in the first place,” she added.

The lawmakers did not specify which “illegal orders” they were referencing, but Trump has previously ordered National Guard deployments into several U.S. cities despite local opposition. He has also authorized military strikes on alleged drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific — operations that experts say have resulted in more than 80 deaths and may violate international law.

Trump, escalating his rhetoric, initially accused the six lawmakers of “seditious behavior, punishable by death.”
Over the weekend, he posted an all-caps tirade on social media insisting that the “traitors” encouraging troops to refuse his commands “should be in jail.”

The confrontation marks one of the most dramatic clashes yet between the Trump administration and Democratic lawmakers, raising fresh questions about presidential power, military obedience, and the role of federal law enforcement in political disputes.