Grand Jury Rejects Trump Administration’s Case Against Democrats Over ‘Illegal Orders’ Video
A federal grand jury on Tuesday declined to indict Democratic lawmakers who urged troops to “refuse illegal orders,” stymieing the Trump Administration’s effort to penalize the Democrats in what some have called a “politicized investigation.”
The Justice Department had sought the indictment over a 90-second video from November featuring six Democrats who warned that “threats to our Constitution” are coming “from right here at home.” The lawmakers in the video, all of whom had served in the military or in intelligence roles, called on members of the military and intelligence community not to comply with unlawful orders.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]Service members are only required to follow orders that are lawful and have a duty to disobey commands that are patently unlawful, according to the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
On Tuesday evening, Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D, Mich.), one of the lawmakers in the video, posted, “Today, it was a grand jury of anonymous American citizens who upheld the rule of law and determined this case should not proceed. Hopefully, this ends this politicized investigation for good.”
It is not clear how many or which of the lawmakers U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro had sought to indict, although Slotkin said she was one of them
The attempt to indict her was “in response to me organizing a 90-second video that simply quoted the law,” Slotkin said. “Pirro did this at the direction of President Trump, who said repeatedly that I should be investigated, arrested, and hanged for sedition.”
President Donald Trump had accused the lawmakers of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH” in a November post on Truth Social. In another post, he called for the lawmakers to be arrested.
“President Trump continues to weaponize our justice system against his perceived enemies. It’s the kind of thing you see in a foreign country, not in the United States we know and love,” Slotkin added Tuesday.
Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D, N.H.), who also appeared in the video, told Axios on Tuesday, “Today an American grand jury honored our Constitution by standing up to an outrageous abuse of presidential power and taxpayer dollars. No matter the threats, I will keep doing my job and upholding my oath to our Constitution.”
The video also featured Reps. Jason Crow (D, Colo.), Chris Deluzio (D, Penn.), and Chrissy Houlahan (D, Penn.), and Sen. Mark Kelly (D, Ariz.).
TIME has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.
Prosecutions against perceived political adversaries
Several of the Democratic lawmakers in the video, as well as others, have criticized the Justice Department’s probe. Slotkin and Houlahan said last week they would not comply with the investigation.
In a Feb. 5 video posted on X, Slotkin accused the Trump Administration of “purposely using physical and legal intimidation to get me to shut up” and “deter others from speaking out against their Administration.”
“The intimidation is the point, and I’m not going to go along with that,” Slotkin said.
Houlahan said in her own video posted on X the same day that she would refuse to submit to a DOJ request for a voluntary interview. “What is happening now crosses a line when the power of the federal government is turned toward intimidating people,” Houlahan said.
Slotkin, Houlahan, Crow, and Goodlander confirmed last month that they had been contacted by federal prosecutors. The FBI had also requested interviews with the lawmakers in November. According to NBC, which first reported the declination to indict, the government attorneys assigned to the case are political appointees.
Last month, Arizona’s Kelly sued Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Department of Defense for taking administrative actions to demote and censure him over the video. A federal judge is expected to rule on the case soon.
Read More: ‘What Changed, Pete?’: Democrats Call Out Hegseth Hypocrisy Over ‘Unlawful Orders’ Remark
Historically, investigations involving sitting Congressmembers would require oversight and approval from the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section, which is meant to serve as a check on the potential use of the department’s for political ends. The Trump Administration, however, has largely stripped the unit of power.