The White House signaled it will take a combative stance against forthcoming investigations into President Trump by the incoming Democratic Congress, writing a letter to Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that their actions “may cross the line into blatant criminality.”
The letter, made public Wednesday, was sent Monday by White House counsel Will Scharf to incoming House Oversight Chairman Robert Garcia, California Democrat.
Mr. Scharf also wrote that the White House may hit back by launching its own investigations into the Democratic lawmakers who issue subpoenas or back congressional probes.
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“Beyond being inconsistent with the clear, well-recognized constitutional limitations on your investigative functions, threats to executive branch officials designed to deter them from public service or process designed merely to abuse or instill fear may cross the line into blatant criminality. And issuing unlawful subpoenas with the intention of depriving citizens of their constitutional rights and privileges may warrant further investigation,” he wrote.
Mr. Scharf wrote that Democrats’ comments after the midterm elections in which they won control of the House and Senate “make it abundantly clear that any forthcoming investigative process will be deployed to harass and aggrandize, rather than advance any legitimate legislative end.”
He cited comments by Democrats who vowed to hand out subpoenas like “candy” or “Mardi Gras beads,” including Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, who pledged to issue enough subpoenas “to level forests.”
Mr. Garcia has been among the most vocal in threatening investigations into the Trump administration. On election night, he issued a two-word statement, telling administration officials to “lawyer up.”
On Wednesday, he pushed back on Mr. Scharf’s letter, insisting that Democrats’ actions were well within the law.
“It appears Donald Trump has something to hide. Let’s be clear: Congress’ authority comes from Article I of the Constitution, not from the permission of the White House. Congress has wide latitude to conduct investigations and oversight, an authority inherent in the power to legislate,” Mr. Garcia said in a statement.
“The American people voted overwhelmingly for us to pass laws to root out corruption and abuse. The Trump Administration continues to weaponize the government with threats of unconstitutional attacks on Congress. We are a co-equal branch of government and will not be deterred by baseless threats from a weaponized DOJ or from the President’s lawyers.”
Democrats have already launched a series of investigations into what they say is corruption from Mr. Trump and his family members.
Mr. Garcia’s committee has sent letters seeking more information about Mr. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner’s business dealings and former U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle’s plea for money from a Trump donor to pay off credit card debt.
Other committees have already begun investigations into Mr. Trump’s crypto ventures and allegations that he’s personally profiting from the presidency, including by issuing pardons to donors.
Mr. Trump on Saturday said he was ordering a Justice Department investigation of Democratic lawmakers’ intimidation of Republicans.
The president accused Democrats of “weaponization and lawfare.”
“The Democrats are going around threatening a lot of people, including the Attorney General of the United States, and others, with Impeachment and many other forms of punishment, even though they admit they have no reason to do so,” he said on social media.
• George Caldwell contributed to this story.
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