Blanche says there ‘could be’ investigations after Trump tells Justice Department to look into Democrats’ letters and impeachment talk

Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday, Nov. 8, on CNN’s “State of the Union” that investigations of Democrats “could be” opened, a day after President Donald Trump said he was ordering the Justice Department to look into what he called threats by Democratic leaders. As quoted by Newsweek, Blanche said: “It depends on what’s said.” He added, “I’m not saying that necessarily every case is going to be prosecuted.”¹

Blanche also said, according to Newsweek, “You are allowed to be critical of President Trump, of me, of this administration,” and “I welcome oversight.” He said that “at some point you have to draw the line” when threats become what he called “so vile and so dangerous.”¹ The Associated Press quoted him saying Democrats “are not allowed to just go around threatening existing members of the administration.”²

What Trump wrote

In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Nov. 7, Trump wrote, “Threatening letters have been sent to many people, all innocent, from Democrat Political Leaders.” He also wrote, “By copy of this statement, I am ordering the Department of Justice to look into this criminal act, immediately!”³

He wrote that Democrats were threatening “a lot of people, including the Attorney General of the United States, and others, with Impeachment and many other forms of punishment,” and that “there have been no impeachable acts committed.” He called it “extortion at the highest level.”³⁴ He also named Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., and wrote, “The imprisonment should be against these EXTORTIONISTS.”³

Letters and statements from Democrats

Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., the top Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee, wrote Wednesday, Nov. 4, to the leaders of 10 departments and agencies his committee oversees, Government Executive and RTTNews reported. The letters cite the Federal Records Act of 1950. Scott’s letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon asked for written assurance by Nov. 18 that records “have not been and will not be concealed, modified, removed, transferred, destroyed” or made inaccessible.⁵⁶ Scott wrote, “The American people have given Congress a clear mandate to root out waste, fraud, and abuse within the Administration.”⁶

Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, posted “LAWYER UP” on X as results came in, The Washington Sun reported. After Blanche’s interview, Garcia told CNN, “They’re so thin skinned,” and “We have a job to do, and we’re going to do it aggressively.”⁷ In August, before the election, Garcia wrote to 40 federal agencies and the National Archives about their duty to preserve records.⁸

Slotkin responded to Trump’s post by saying he would “have Stephen draft a tweet threatening to put me in jail,” referring to Stephen Miller, whom Trump has named chief of staff. She also said “if you break the law or use taxpayer dollars to enrich yourself, you should be held accountable. If you didn’t break the law, then it’s all good.”³

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said he is “a hard yes” on a resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the AP reported.²

What the records do not show

• Trump’s post did not identify the letters, their senders or their recipients in the quoted text reviewed. ABC News reported he did not say which letters he meant.⁹ None of the sources reviewed ties his post to Scott’s letters or any other specific letter.
• No Justice Department announcement, charge or investigation resulting from the post appears in the public record reviewed as of Nov. 8. Newsweek reported Nov. 7 that it was “not immediately clear” whether one had been opened.¹⁰
• SignalData could not open Trump’s post, CNN’s transcript or Scott’s letter directly. Their words here are as quoted by the outlets credited. Versions of Blanche’s answer differ: Newsweek has “it could be,” ABC News “there could be.”¹⁹
• This report makes no finding on whether any letter or statement is a threat or a crime.