Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday suggested that what he called threats made by some Democrat lawmakers against Trump administration officials, supporters, and allies could be crimes and that he would be “very worried” if he sat on the House Oversight Committee.
During an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union one day after President Donald Trump ordered the Department of Justice to investigate what he called a “criminal act” by Democrats.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Democrats were threatening “a lot of people, including the Attorney General of the United States,” with impeachment and that “The imprisonment should be against these EXTORTIONISTS.”
In a second post, Trump urged people to report threats to the Justice Department. “These SLEAZEBAGS should go to jail for what they are doing,” he wrote.
CNN host Dana Bash asked Blanche whether he would investigate Democrats and whether their conduct could be considered criminal. “It depends on what’s said,” Blanche replied. “So yes, there could be.”
Attorney General Todd Blanche says "there could be" investigations after Trump orders the Justice Department to "look into" Democratic lawmakers conducting oversight into the Trump Administration. https://t.co/bHjM96njdm
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) November 8, 2026
The attorney general affirmed the right to free speech and to criticize the Trump administration. However, he said a U.S. senator warning college students to be careful about working for the Trump administration takes things too far.
"At some point, you have to draw the line," he said.
Blanche also responded to Democrat Rep. Robert Garcia’s (CA-42), the incoming House Oversight Committee chairman’s thinly veiled threat in a statement on X that simply said, “Lawyer up” after Democrats won control of the legislature last Tuesday.
The attorney general said Garcia’s post demonstrated “a remarkable lack of understanding of how government works” and that “I would be very worried if I was a member on that committee.”
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) during a University of Chicago event said she wants to create an environment in which people considering working for the Trump administration reconsider due to public pressure.
She said she wants “to look at these signature cases and not just focus on the president, but on the people who enabled him.”
BASH: "I do want to ask you about another thing that the President said. He said that the Democratic lawmakers are 'extortionists' and they should be imprisoned. Is that a possibility?" BLANCHE: "It depends on what the crime is and what they've done." https://t.co/wENj2mSfXz
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) November 8, 2026
The lawmaker further stated that when it comes to young people considering a role under the Trump administration, “I want them to be like, ‘Lord, that might be buying myself a ton of problems that I don’t want, and so let me avoid participating in that.’”
“I want that deterrence message,” she added.
The Justice Department previously investigated Slotkin and other Democrat lawmakers after they released a video last year urging service members to “refuse illegal orders.”