Trump Orders DOJ to Investigate Democrats He Calls 'Extortionists' Over Impeachment Threats

President Donald Trump said Saturday, Nov. 7, that he is ordering the Justice Department to investigate Democrats he accuses of "extortion at the highest level."

The post on Truth Social came days after Democrats won majorities in both the House and the Senate.

"The Democrats are going around threatening a lot of people, including the Attorney General of the United States, and others, with Impeachment and many other forms of punishment," Trump wrote. He said there have been "no impeachable acts committed, or even thought of."

He also claimed Democrats are threatening Republican donors "with imprisonment, and many other levels of punishment, just because they happen to be Republicans, or Republican supporters." He called it "Weaponization and Lawfare at another level."

"By copy of this statement, I am ordering the Department of Justice to look into this criminal act, immediately!" he concluded.

What Trump did not say

Trump did not identify the "threatening letters" he mentioned or say who sent them. He wrote only that they went to "many people, all innocent, from Democrat Political Leaders."

He singled out Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, claiming she plans to "go after all young people that believe in Republican Values." He offered no evidence she said that.

No investigation has been announced by the Justice Department in response to the post. No charges have been filed against any Democrat in connection with it.

The backdrop: a Democratic Congress with subpoena power

Democrats took the House and Senate, with Senate wins in Texas, South Carolina and Kansas, according to NPR's election coverage. Hakeem Jeffries is poised to become Speaker. Trump and Vice President JD Vance have both acknowledged that the war in Iran and its effect on prices contributed to the party's worst losses in half a century, according to The Washington Post. House Speaker Mike Johnson will not seek to remain GOP leader, a top aide told the paper.

The new majorities carry the full investigative powers of Congress, including subpoenas and compelled testimony. Rep. Robert Garcia of California, expected to chair the House Oversight Committee, put out a statement that read, in full caps, "LAWYER UP."

Democratic committee staffers told NPR the priorities will include the administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and the financial interests of the president, his family and allies, including Truth Social and crypto projects.

Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on House Judiciary, said evidence involving 11 women tells a "far more damning story" about Trump's relationship with Epstein than the president has described. Trump has long denied wrongdoing and says his relationship with Epstein ended before the financier was indicted in 2016.

A Justice Department already in flux

Three senior Justice Department officials have left since the election. Harmeet Dhillon resigned as head of the Civil Rights Division on Thursday. John Eisenberg, who led the National Security Division, announced his exit Friday. Jason Reding Quiñones, U.S. Attorney in Southern Florida, was also out.

Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Quiñones's departure Friday, saying the department is "grateful for Jason's leadership." Sources familiar with the matter told CNN that Quiñones was pushed out by department leadership. Quiñones led the sprawling probe of Trump's perceived political foes known as the "grand conspiracy" investigation, and his office secured the indictment of former Cuban President Raúl Castro.

Those same sources said Blanche has tried to restore control of the department and viewed some officials as making promises they could not keep. A Democratic Senate will make confirming replacements harder. Trump can install acting leaders for the rest of his term.

The Alaska probe

The Justice Department's recent conduct toward Democrats gives Trump's post context. A source familiar with the matter told CNBC the department sent more than 20 letters tied to a criminal probe of the Alaska Senate race. Some identify recipients as potential targets. Others tell recipients to preserve records.

The probe concerns how a candidate with the same name as Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan ended up on the ballot. A person familiar with the investigation told The New York Times that the department is looking at "possible donor fraud and conspiracy charges."

The Times reported that Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias received a target letter, along with at least one Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee official. A target letter is not a charge, and recipients may never be charged.

Elias said, "No one should be surprised that President Trump's Department of Justice is targeting me and my law firm on Election Day." On Fox News the same day, Trump said Elias "should go to jail, in my opinion."

A federal judge dismissed a separate DOJ lawsuit that sought to delay certification of Alaska's Senate results if Sullivan lost by a margin attributable to voter confusion. The department is appealing.

What the dispute turns on

Trump's position is that Democratic threats of impeachment and punishment against officials and donors are themselves improper. Democrats' stated position is that oversight is what voters sent them to do, citing public corruption and failing leadership as top voter concerns. Congress holds constitutional authority to impeach, subpoena and investigate. Whether any letter or statement crosses into a crime is a legal question the president has not supported with a specific example.

The next tests are concrete. The Justice Department has yet to say whether it will open an inquiry in response to Trump's order. The Alaska appeal is pending. The Democratic majorities, with Garcia expected to lead House Oversight, are set to begin issuing requests and subpoenas once the new Congress is seated.