Three More Democrats Say Prosecutors Contacted Them Over Video Urging Military to Reject Illegal Orders

By Blessing Nweke

Three additional Democratic lawmakers said Wednesday that federal prosecutors have contacted them following their participation in a video urging members of the U.S. military and intelligence community not to follow illegal orders, escalating a dispute between congressional Democrats and the Trump administration.

Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania said they were approached by prosecutors after appearing in the video, which was released in November by six Democratic lawmakers who are former military or intelligence community veterans. All three lawmakers struck defiant tones, saying they would resist any investigation tied to their remarks.

“Donald Trump called for my arrest, prosecution, and execution—all because I said something he didn’t like,” Crow said in a statement, accusing the administration of pressuring political appointees to target him for speaking out.

Goodlander said on X that it was “sad and telling” that stating what she described as a fundamental principle of American law prompted threats from the president, adding that it was “downright dangerous” for the Justice Department to target her for doing her job. Houlahan wrote in a social media post that the lawmakers were being targeted not for false statements, but for comments Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “didn’t want anyone to hear.”

Another participant in the video, Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, said Tuesday that she was under investigation by Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia and a close Trump ally. Crow said Wednesday that Slotkin was facing the same scrutiny as the other lawmakers, calling it an effort to “weaponize the Department of Justice” to suppress dissent.

Crow’s office said Pirro’s office contacted him last week seeking an interview about the video, which reminded service members of their duty not to comply with unlawful orders. Pirro’s office declined to confirm or deny the existence of an investigation.

Trump previously blasted the lawmakers over the video, accusing them of “seditious behavior” and suggesting their actions could be “punishable by death,” though he later said he was not threatening them.

The sixth lawmaker involved, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, sued Hegseth and the Defense Department this week, calling efforts to censure him “unlawful and unconstitutional.”