FILE - The Pentagon and the Potomac River in Washington, as seen from the Washington Monument, Dec., 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., exits the Senate chamber after speaking out against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's efforts to censure him over his participation in a video that called on troops to resist unlawful orders, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
FILE - The Pentagon and the Potomac River in Washington, as seen from the Washington Monument, Dec., 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)
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FILE - Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., speaks at the Center for American Progress, June 26, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf, File)
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Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., exits the Senate chamber after speaking out against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's efforts to censure him over his participation in a video that called on troops to resist unlawful orders, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic lawmakers who appeared in a video urging members of the military to resist “illegal orders” confirmed Wednesday that they are under investigation from the Trump administration, a remarkable step by the Justice Department that comes after the president accused the lawmakers of sedition for their words.
The four House members and two senators all previously served in the military or at intelligence agencies. The FBI contacted them for interviews late last year, after their 90-second video was released, and now say they have been contacted by the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Columbia, a significant escalation in the investigation.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, a former CIA analyst, first revealed the outreach from prosecutors in an interview with The New York Times. On Wednesday she posted a video on her X account saying the office of U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, the chief federal prosecutor in the nation’s capital, reached out last week asking to interview her.
“This is the president’s playbook. Truth doesn’t matter. Facts don’t matter. And anyone who disagrees with him becomes an enemy,” Slotkin said. “And he then weaponizes the federal government against them. It’s legal intimidation and physical intimidation meant to get you to shut up.”
Pirro’s office said it would neither confirm nor deny whether an investigation is taking place.
Democrats stand their ground
Democratic Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania and Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire also confirmed Wednesday that they have been contacted by Pirro's office.
“They would like to sit down with us,” Houlahan told reporters. "And to my knowledge, each one of us have received the same email and outreach.”
The House members remained defiant, with Crow saying the Trump administration "picked the wrong people.”
“It is downright dangerous that the Justice Department is targeting me for doing my job,” Goodlander said in a statement. “These threats will not deter, distract, intimidate, or silence me.”
The lawmakers attracted President Donald Trump's wrath with a video that he and his aides have labeled as — an offense Trump said on his social media account was “punishable by death.”
It is not clear what laws could have been violated in the video message. In it, the lawmakers tell troops to follow established military protocols by not following commands that violate the law. They said the administration “is pitting our uniformed military against American citizens” and they called for service members to “stand up for our laws.”
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Wednesday that “these members of Congress did not violate the law” and that Democrats “stand firmly behind them.”
Pentagon vs. Mark Kelly
The Pentagon swiftly went after Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, a former Navy pilot who represents Arizona, for his participation in the video.
In November, the Pentagon opened an investigation into him, citing a federal law that allows retired service members to be recalled to active duty on orders of the defense secretary for possible court-martial or other punishment. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has censured Kelly for participating. Hegseth is attempting to Kelly from his retired rank of captain.
The senator is to block those proceedings, calling them an unconstitutional act of retribution.
“The First Amendment forbids the government and its officials from punishing disfavored expression or retaliating against protected speech,” his lawsuit says.
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Associated Press reporters Bill Barrow in Atlanta, Michael Casey in Boston and Kevin Freking and Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.
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This story has been corrected to reflect that Slotkin gave the Democratic response to Trump's congressional address in 2025, not 2024.
