Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., says she will not voluntarily participate in a Department of Justice investigation tied to a video she and five other Democratic lawmakers released urging U.S. military members to ignore unlawful orders.
In a video posted on X on Thursday, Slotkin said she sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, informing them she will not sit for a voluntary interview.
The letter described the lawmakers’ message as “uncontroversial and incontrovertible,” according to The Washington Post.
Slotkin criticized the Trump administration’s response to the video, saying, “I am not going to legitimize their actions.”
Download the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts™.
Point phone camera here
Administration’s response
The video was first posted on Slotkin’s account in November and featured Sen. Mark Kelly and Reps. Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander and Chrissy Houlahan — all veterans of the armed services or intelligence community.
After the video’s release, President Donald Trump accused the lawmakers of sedition in a Truth Social post, calling their actions “punishable by DEATH.” The administration later launched an investigation into the lawmakers involved.
Separately, the Pentagon ordered a review of Kelly that could result in his retirement rank being downgraded, along with a reduction in his military pay. However, a federal judge has since expressed skepticism about that effort and is expected to rule next week.
Slotkin says she will not voluntarily comply with the DOJ’s request.
What Slotkin is saying
“The video was public. I’ve done a ton of public talking about it since then, including now, and our constitution is crystal clear on the issue of freedom of speech,” Slotkin said in her video posted on X Thursday.
She said some lawyers advised her to keep her head down and stay quiet, but she rejected that approach.
“That’s exactly what the Trump administration and Jeanine Pirro want — they’re purposely using physical and legal intimidation to get me to shut up,” Slotkin said. “More importantly, they’re using that intimidation to deter others from speaking out against the administration. The intimidation is the point, and I’m not going to go along with that.”
In the video, Slotkin also said she would consider suing for “infringement of my constitutional rights.”
Houlhan also refuses
Rep. Houlahan posted her own video on Thursday, saying she will also not voluntarily sit down for an interview.
“I will not be doing that,” Houlahan said, adding that the video was released by six members of Congress “who have won this nation’s uniform or served in its defense.”
She said, “It told the truth. It stated facts. It reiterated the law. And it exercised speech explicitly protected by the First Amendment.”
Pirro’s office declined to comment on the matter, and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
