Two Democratic lawmakers who participated in a viral November video urging U.S. service members to not follow “illegal orders” from the Trump administration are refusing to comply with an investigation by his Department of Justice (DOJ).
Democratic Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA analyst, said in an X post Thursday that she wrote a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro stating that she would not comply with the DOJ’s request to interview her about the video or respond to its inquiries. The Democratic senator also said she urged the DOJ to retain their records on the case “in case I decide to sue for infringement of my constitutional rights.”
“This is about more than just my case. It’s about the ability t0 speak your mind and have freedom from fear,” Slotkin said.
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Democratic Pennsylvania Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, a former Air Force officer, also said in a Thursday X post that she would not comply with the DOJ’s request to interview her over her role in the video.
“I will not be doing that,” she said in a video posted to the platform. “When the power of the federal government is turned toward intimidating the people, including veterans who have sworn to defend the Constitution, and duly elected representatives of the people, for speaking the truth, that is not justice.”
“I refuse to be intimidated by the Trump Administration,” Houlahan wrote in her X post. “Not only because our right to free speech needs to be protected, but because this so-called investigation is an attempt to distract from the real issues at hand. (See today’s jobs report.)”
When asked for comment, Slotkin’s office referred the Daily Caller News Foundation to her video on X. The DOJ and Houlahan’s office each did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the DCNF.
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Slotkin and Houlahan participated in the video alongside Democratic Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Democratic House Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania and Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire.
Crow said last month all the House members from the video — who all served as either military or intelligence officers — have been contacted by the Justice Department.
“Donald Trump is using the Department of Justice as a weapon to harass and intimidate me, in particular, as well as the other members who filmed that video,” Crow, a former Army officer, said.
President Donald Trump accused the six Democrats in the video of engaging in “seditious behavior.” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth dubbed the half-dozen lawmakers the “Seditious Six.”
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“This administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens,” the six lawmakers said in the video, in tandem with each other. “Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders. You can refuse illegal orders. You must refuse illegal orders.”
Kelly filed a lawsuit in January over Hegseth’s effort to demote Kelly’s retirement rank as Navy Captain due to his involvement in the video. Kelly’s lawsuit against the Department of War and Hegseth alleges their actions are “unlawful and unconstitutional.”
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