Mastodawn

Senator #ElissaSlotkin of #Michigan says she has learned that federal prosecutors are investigating her after she took part in a video urging #military service members to resist #illegal orders.

Slotkin, a Democrat, said in an interview Monday that she found out about the inquiry from the office of #JeaninePirro, the #USattorney for DC & a longtime ally of #Trump.

#law #LegalEthics #DOJ #RevengePolitics
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/us/politics/slotkin-pirro-trump-justice-dept-video.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

Senator Says Prosecutors Are Investigating Her After Video About Illegal Orders

It is unclear what possible crime might involve Senator Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat, who has warned in dire terms about the dissolution of American democracy.

The New York Times

In an email sent to the Senate’s sergeant-at-arms, #JeaninePirro’s office requested an interview with the senator or her private counsel.

It is unclear what possible #crime might involve Sen #ElissaSlotkin who has warned in dire terms about the dissolution of #US #democracy.

#military #MilitaryLaw #law #LegalEthics #DOJ #Trump #RevengePolitics

Sen #ElissaSlotkin organized the video, which #Trump & other admin ofcls have described as “seditious,” along with 5 other Democratic lawmakers who are also #military #veterans. Its message that military officers are obligated to ignore #illegal orders is a fundamental principle of #MilitaryLaw.

#law #LegalEthics #DOJ #RevengePolitics

The investigation by #JeninePirro’s office is the latest escalation in a campaign by #Trump & his allies to exact retribution on those he views as enemies seeking to undermine his admin or his authority as commander in chief.

…#ElissaSlotkin, a former #CIA officer who served 3 tours in Iraq, described the investigation as an effort by an #authoritarian president to #weaponize the federal government & intimidate her into silence.

#military #MilitaryLaw #law #LegalEthics #DOJ #RevengePolitics

“Facts matter little, but the threat matters quite a bit,” #ElissaSlotkin said. “The threat of legal action; the threat to your family; the threat to your staff; the threat to you.”

…“I’ve seen democracies flicker out,” Slotkin said in March when she delivered her party’s response to #Trump’s SOTU address. “I’ve seen what life is like when a government is rigged.”

“You can’t criticize the guys in charge without getting a knock at the door in the middle of the night,” she added.

In the months that followed, Slotkin’s warnings about the state of #US #democracy have grown more dire & her worries that #Trump will use the #legal system or the #military to target Americans who disagree with him have become more pronounced.

In June, as Trump was deploying #Marines & #NationalGuard forces to LA over the objection of state & local leaders, #ElissaSlotkin asked #Hegseth during a Senate hearing whether he had given the troops orders “to shoot at unarmed protesters in any way.”

#Hegseth laughed & dismissed her question.

After the assassination of the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk in September, #Trump & his top advisers said they were going to designate certain left-wing groups as “domestic terrorists.”

“As a former #CIA officer, that pricked my ears up,” #ElissaSlotkin said.

Slotkin, speaking at the Brookings Institution in the fall, suggested that Trump could use #LethalForce against his domestic enemies or target them with #criminal “investigations”.

“I’m giving this speech today because I believe that’s exactly the plan,” she said. “I believe that #Trump is ready to bring the full weight of the federal government against Americans he perceives as enemies. Why? Because he has one goal: making sure that he & his ilk never have to give up #power.”

#military #MilitaryLaw #law #LegalEthics #DOJ #Constitution #RevengePolitics

Those concerns led a few weeks later to the video she made with her fellow lawmakers urging #US #troops to remember their #oath to the #Constitution & resist #illegal orders. The message echoed her earlier speech.

This time, though, #Trump reacted with vitriol & claimed that their actions were a betrayal of the country. “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” he wrote.

#military #MilitaryLaw #law #LegalEthics #DOJ #RevengePolitics

#ElissaSlotkin said her office was inundated with hundreds of #threats & that the #CapitolPolice told her that she required 24-hour security. The police were called to her father’s home in Michigan in a practice known as “swatting” after a caller falsely asserted that he was trying to kill his wife.

“My brother had to have a police car put in front of his home,” Slotkin said.

#military #MilitaryLaw #law #LegalEthics #DOJ #Trump #RevengePolitics

Sen #MarkKelly sued #Hegseth & the #Pentagon this week over the move to punish him for the video. “I didn’t expect that I would ever find myself here,” he said in a speech on the #Senate floor on Monday.

In the interview on Monday, #ElissaSlotkin shared a similar sentiment. “I’ve studied this kind of political #authoritarianism in other countries my entire professional life,” she said. “I just can’t believe I am talking about it in my own country.”

#law #LegalEthics #Trump #RevengePolitics

#ElissaSlotkin grew more concerned this week after the fatal #shooting of #ReneeNicoleGood, an unarmed #US citizen, by a federal #immigration agent in #Minneapolis.

…Slotkin said the admin’s reaction reflected its growing #authoritarian impulses.

“Anyone who’s an enemy is a terrorist,” she said. Such language, she continued, is the “standard playbook of any authoritarian leader.”

#military #MilitaryLaw #law #LegalEthics #DOJ #Trump #RevengePolitics #AbuseOfPower #despotism #MafiaState

Today, #ElissaSlotkin said, the primary divide in the #DemocraticParty is no longer between moderates like herself & progressives. Rather, she said, it is between #Democrats who want to fight & those who believe they can wait out #Trump & his movement.

“I realized it’s not just about me & my family,” she said. “It’s what happens when the commander in chief takes the arms of the government & turns them against basic #FreeSpeech & against his own people. And it’s not going to stop with me.”

@Nonilex “waiting Trump out” is code for cowardly abdication of responsibility in order to save their own asses. Same shit that happened in Nazi Germany. I suspect that some of them will be Quislings and none of this will be forgotten.

Kevin LaRose,aka Grumpasaurus Jan 20

@Nonilex @wdjorth Waiting #Trump out is not, or shouldn’t be, an option. It’s time to fight like democracy depends on it, because it does.

troy_friz_zell Jan 14

The fact that these two Senators can't get their heads around the fact of fascist takeover of the US government is symptomatic of the establishment Democrats.

We need Democrats that understand the situation.

Please vote in your Democratic primary.

Please.

oscarfalcon Jan 14

Oh boy: at this point (today January 13th, 2026) we (the rest of the world) are only waiting for your "Reichstagsbrand" moment because WE know it's coming fast, and we don't believe Usonia will survive (speaking for myself)...