Criminal Justice

Trump Orders Justice Department To Investigate His Congressional Critics, Saying They Deserve 'Imprisonment'

That does not "necessarily" mean that "every case is going to be prosecuted," said Attorney General Todd Blanche, without clarifying what the charge could possibly be.

Jacob Sullum | 11.9.2026 10:00 AM

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Democrats who plan to investigate executive-branch officials when they take over Congress in January are "EXTORTIONISTS" worthy of "imprisonment," President Donald Trump declared in a Truth Social post on Saturday. Trump said he was "ordering the Department of Justice to look into this criminal act, immediately!"

As is often the case when Trump demands the prosecution of his political opponents, he was hazy on what crime he had in mind. Although he repeatedly mentioned "extortion," that crime entails the use of threats to obtain money, property, or other things of value, so the label is clearly inapt in this context. Attorney General Todd Blanche nevertheless seemed to reinforce Trump's threat during an interview on CNN's State of the Union yesterday, saying members of the House Oversight Committee, which will be chaired by Rep. Robert Garcia (D–Calif.) in the next congressional session, should "be very worried."

Blanche was responding to Garcia's Election Day recommendation that potential targets of congressional investigations should "LAWYER UP." Garcia, in turn, objected to Blanche's response.

"What Todd Blanche is doing right now is a threat," Garcia said later on the same CNN show. "He is threatening our committee. He's trying to stop us from doing real oversight….The Constitution makes it very clear that it's our job in the Congress to conduct oversight of the executive and the administration."

Blanche conceded that congressional oversight is legitimate but suggested that Garcia and other Democrats plan to........

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