Democrats Allege Trump of ‘Harassment’ Campaign as FBI Seeks Meetings

A group of Democrat politicians branded by the president as engaging in “seditious behavior” have claimed that the president is employing the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) against them as a “tool to intimidate and harass congressional representatives.”

The four elected officials, together with two additional members, had created a video encouraging US military service members to resist unlawful orders – a statement that provoked Trump, who posted on social media that the group were “disloyal citizens” and thus could be jailed or even be subject to capital punishment.

A statement, issued by congressional lawmakers Jason Crow, the Pennsylvania representatives, and Maggie Goodlander, confirmed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had reached out to the House and Senate sergeants at arms seeking interviews with them.

“Regardless of any pressure or threats will ever prevent us from fulfilling our duties and upholding the Constitution,” they stated, noting that they had each sworn an oath “to support and defend” the US constitution.

“That oath lasts a lifetime, and we intend to keep it. We will not be bullied. We will not surrender our principles,” they added.

The declaration intensifies a dispute between the president’s team and Democrats, such as Arizona senator and ex-astronaut Mark Kelly and the Michigan representative Representative Slotkin, over the video message, which urged the armed forces and intelligence personnel to “disregard unlawful commands.”

The Michigan lawmaker said the counter-terrorism unit of the FBI had informed the group that “they are opening what seems like an inquiry targeting the six individuals” and described the move as a “intimidation strategy” by Trump.

“To be honest, the leader’s response and the deployment of the FBI to target us is precisely the reason we created the message,” she said.

“He supports utilizing the federal government to oppose those he views as opponents, and he’s willing to employ the government agencies to target dissenters. He fails to accept the law applies to him … which is precisely the reason we made the video, to give people some assurance that they weren’t alone as they observe these events develop.”

The Pentagon has also said it is performing an examination of misconduct allegations against Kelly that might, it indicated, result in him being recalled to active duty to undergo a military trial.