Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Slotkin declines DOJ interview request in 'illegal orders' video case
Sen. Elissa Slotkin and other Democratic lawmakers filed a video last year reminding troops that they can ignore illegal orders.
Slotkin declines DOJ interview request in ‘illegal orders’ video case www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
— Timothy McBride (@mcbridetd.bsky.social) 2026-02-05T23:54:07.373Z
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/02/05/slotkin-interview-video-doj
Sen. Elissa Slotkin has refused to voluntarily participate in a Justice Department investigation over a video she and five other Democratic members of Congress recorded late last year that urged U.S. troops to resist unlawful orders from the Trump administration.
In a Thursday letter to U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro reviewed by The Washington Post and first reported by the Associated Press, Preet Bharara, an attorney for Slotkin (Michigan), defended the senator’s decision and said the message that Slotkin and the other Democrats shared was “uncontroversial and incontrovertible.”
“As a former member of the intelligence community, and current member of Congress with oversight of those communities, Senator Slotkin felt duty-bound to ensure those individuals understood that the law not only allows, but requires them, to refuse an illegal order,” Bharara wrote.
On Thursday, Slotkin said in a video on X that many lawyers told her “just be quiet, keep my head down, and, hopefully, this will all just go away.....
Slotkin’s legal team, Bharara added, met with two members from Pirro’s office. He said the officers “could not articulate any theory of possible criminal liability or identify any statute they were relying on or that could have been violated.”
Spokespeople for the White House, the Justice Department and Pirro’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a Thursday letter to U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro reviewed by The Washington Post and first reported by the Associated Press, Preet Bharara, an attorney for Slotkin (Michigan), defended the senator’s decision and said the message that Slotkin and the other Democrats shared was “uncontroversial and incontrovertible.”
“As a former member of the intelligence community, and current member of Congress with oversight of those communities, Senator Slotkin felt duty-bound to ensure those individuals understood that the law not only allows, but requires them, to refuse an illegal order,” Bharara wrote.
On Thursday, Slotkin said in a video on X that many lawyers told her “just be quiet, keep my head down, and, hopefully, this will all just go away.....
Slotkin’s legal team, Bharara added, met with two members from Pirro’s office. He said the officers “could not articulate any theory of possible criminal liability or identify any statute they were relying on or that could have been violated.”
Spokespeople for the White House, the Justice Department and Pirro’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
I cannot believe that any real attorney would open this investigation. Pirro needs to be disbarred or sanctioned for this so-called investigation
