BY EMMANUEL OGBONNA
Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan is refusing to voluntarily cooperate with a Justice Department investigation into a video she helped organize urging U.S. service members to resist what the lawmakers described as unlawful orders, intensifying a confrontation that President Donald Trump has openly encouraged.
In letters obtained by reporters, Slotkin’s attorney informed Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, that the senator would not consent to a voluntary interview regarding the video. Her legal team also formally requested that the Justice Department preserve all records related to the matter, citing the likelihood of future litigation.
In a separate letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Slotkin’s lawyer declined an FBI interview request and urged the attorney general to immediately shut down any inquiry tied to the video. The correspondence signals a decisive escalation by the Michigan senator, shifting pressure onto federal prosecutors to either advance a politically sensitive investigation involving a sitting member of Congress or abandon it under public scrutiny.
“I did this to go on offense,” Slotkin said in an interview Wednesday. “I wanted to put them in a position where they have to own their choices—using a U.S. attorney’s office to come after a senator.”
The dispute traces back to November, when Slotkin joined five other Democratic lawmakers, all with prior military or intelligence experience, in releasing a 90-second video addressed to members of the armed forces. In it, the lawmakers urged troops to adhere to established military law and tradition and to reject orders they believed to be illegal, warning that political leaders were attempting to pit uniformed service members against American civilians.
The video quickly ignited backlash from Republicans and drew the attention of Trump, who accused the lawmakers of sedition and declared their actions “punishable by death,” a remark that further inflamed tensions. Not long afterward, the Pentagon announced it had opened an investigation into Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, a former Navy pilot who appeared in the video. The FBI then reached out to the lawmakers seeking interviews, indicating a broader Justice Department review.
Slotkin said her initial response was guided by caution. Legal advisers, she recalled, suggested that remaining quiet might allow the controversy to fade. But the situation resurfaced in January, when she and other lawmakers were contacted again by prosecutors in Washington.
At the same time, Slotkin said, threats against her family escalated. She reported that her farm in Michigan received a bomb threat, her brother was assigned a police detail due to credible threats, and her parents were subjected to a swatting incident in the middle of the night. Her father, who died in January after a long illness, was forced to deal with police while severely weakened, she said.
“That was the moment a switch went off,” Slotkin said. “It’s not going to stop unless I fight back.”
According to Slotkin, all requests from the FBI and the Justice Department have been voluntary, but prosecutors continued to press for an in-person interview. Her attorney, Preet Bharara, declined those requests in writing and called on Pirro to immediately terminate any investigation related to the video. In his letter to Bondi, Bharara urged the attorney general to use her authority to direct the closure of the inquiry.
Bharara argued that Slotkin’s constitutional rights had been violated and made clear that legal action was under consideration. “All options are most definitely on the table,” Slotkin said when asked about possible next steps. Pressed on whether she would comply with a subpoena, she paused before answering that she would “take a hard look at it.”
Bharara, a former U.S. attorney in New York who was dismissed during Trump’s first term, is also representing Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California in a separate Justice Department-related matter, underscoring the broader political backdrop surrounding the investigations.
Kelly has mounted a similar challenge, filing suit against the Pentagon last month over efforts to discipline him for his role in the video. This week, a federal judge expressed skepticism about the legal basis for the Pentagon’s actions, noting that he was unaware of any Supreme Court precedent supporting such a censure as he considered whether to intervene.
Slotkin said she remains in contact with the other lawmakers involved in the video but declined to discuss their legal strategies.
The standoff comes as Trump continues to target political opponents, a tactic that has sometimes had the effect of amplifying their national profiles. In Kelly’s case, campaign finance filings show he raised more than $12.5 million in the final months of 2025 following the controversy.
Slotkin, who has been mentioned among Democrats viewed as potential presidential contenders in 2028, won her Senate seat in Michigan in 2024 after previously representing one of the country’s most competitive House districts. Her victory came even as Trump carried the state at the top of the ticket.
She delivered her party’s response to Trump’s address to Congress last year and has since urged Democrats to take a more confrontational approach, arguing that the party had lost its edge. “If I’m encouraging other people to take risks, how can I not accept risk myself?” Slotkin said. “You’ve got to show people we’re not going to lay down and take it.”
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