White House’s angry threat over planned Trump probes

After their comprehensive victories in the recent midterm elections, during which voters cited “corruption” as one of their top issues in exit polling, the triumphant Democrats have flagged that they will launch multiple probes.

In a newly-published letter, White House legal counsel Will Scharf warned Democratic Representative Robert Garcia, the incoming head of the powerful House Oversight Committee, that the probes could potentially be legally fraught.

“Threats to executive branch officials designed to deter them from public service, or process designed merely to abuse or instil fear in the recipient may cross the line into blatant criminality,” Scharf wrote in the letter, which was first published by Punchbowl News.

Scharf also warned against “unlawful process motivated by animus, pettiness, hatred, or any other unlawful motive” and alleged there had been “abusive and capricious threats” from Democratic lawmakers.

In a statement, Garcia said he would not be deterred by “baseless threats”.

“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.”

He said US citizens had “overwhelmingly” voted for Democrats to root out “corruption and abuse”.

“The Trump administration continues to weaponise the government with threats of unconstitutional attacks on Congress,” Garcia said.

“We are a co-equal branch of government and will not be deterred by baseless threats from a weaponised DOJ or from the president’s lawyers.”

Speaking to CNN, Garcia scornfully dismissed the letter, saying it showed the administration “cannot take any sort of heat”.

“If you have abused the American public, you should lawyer up. If you’re a corporate CEO and you’re ripping off the American people, you should lawyer up,” he said.

“You’ve abused, and you’re a co-conspirator of Jeffrey Epstein, and you’ve abused and raped women and children. You should lawyer up.”

Other prominent Democrats, including potential future House speaker Hakeem Jeffries and incoming House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jamie Raskin, also blasted the tactics from the White House.

Both US President Donald Trump and Attorney General Todd Blanche have also shifted into early attack mode.

Speaking to CNN earlier this week, Blanche suggested Democrats could be prosecuted over any investigations, while Trump said the spectre of probes into his administration was “extortion at the highest level”.

Democrats are preparing a vast oversight agenda to look at how Trump and his family have become wealthier since he returned to office.

The Republican president and his White House have long denied any wrongdoing.

Garcia also wants to look at the administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation and Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.

Other targets include Trump’s White House ballroom and other construction projects, as well as the Trump family’s role in mineral deals and Trump’s crypto dealings with special envoy Steve Witkoff.

An investigation by Reuters in 2025 found that in just the first year of Trump’s second term, his administration targeted 470 entities, including people, institutions, and organisations, for retribution via investigations and legal proceedings.

President Joe Biden, too, was targeted by Republican-led investigations into alleged “corruption” that ultimately did not even lead to a successful impeachment attempt.

An FBI agent who claimed to have evidence of Biden’s corruption later pleaded guilty to making it up.

With Associated Press.