Six targeted House and Senate Democrats blasted the Trump administration after a federal grand jury failed to indict them over their participation in the “illegal orders” video, a move they hailed as a victory for the Constitution and the First Amendment.
The Democratic lawmakers loudly declared that they wouldn’t be silenced by what they see as unprecedented intimidation tactics used by President Donald Trump and top administration officials.
“If these fuckers think that they’re going to intimidate us and threaten and bully me into silence, and they’re going to go after political opponents and get us to back down, they have another thing coming,” Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) said. “The tide is turning.”
“It’s a vindication for the Constitution,” Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) added.
Crow and Houlahan, along with Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), and Reps. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.) and Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.), have declined voluntary interviews as part of the investigation. NBC News and the New York Times broke the news of the failed indictment attempts by Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. Pirro, a former Fox News host, is a close Trump ally.
The Justice Department’s push marked a major escalation in the Trump administration’s targeting of the six Democrats, who’ve already been the subjects of an investigation by federal prosecutors for advising troops to defy illegal orders. The Pentagon has separately censured Kelly and moved to potentially reduce the retired Navy captain’s rank and retirement pay.
“This is an outrageous abuse of power by Donald Trump and his lackies,” Kelly said in a post on X. “Donald Trump wants every American to be too scared to speak out against him. The most patriotic thing any of us can do is not back down.”
Slotkin — a former CIA analyst and Pentagon official — said it was “another sad day for our country.” But Slotkin added that the failed indictments mean “we can score one for the Constitution, our freedom of speech, and the rule of law.”
“Today, it was a grand jury of anonymous American citizens who upheld the rule of law and determined this case should not proceed. Hopefully, this ends this politicized investigation for good,” the Michigan Democrat wrote in a post on X.
A handful of Republicans initially objected to the Trump administration’s investigation of the Democrats over the video, but they’ve been conspicuously silent as the probe has continued to escalate.
The Justice Department and Pirro’s office didn’t comment on the failed indictments. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, earlier this week asked Attorney General Pam Bondi and Pirro to preserve all records related to the investigations.
Bondi will testify before the House Judiciary Committee today in a pre-scheduled appearance (see below).
“This is absolutely obscene, disgusting. [Un-American] at the most basic level. The stuff of dictatorships,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) said in a social media post about the attempted indictments. “Every free speech warrior should be screaming bloody murder they are trying to imprison senators for what they say.”
Separately, a federal judge is expected to rule as soon as this week on Kelly’s bid to stop Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from punishing him over his participation in the video.
