Trump orders Justice Department to probe alleged Democratic threats against Republicans

In brief

• President Donald Trump says he has ordered the Justice Department to investigate alleged threatening letters sent by Democratic leaders.
• Trump claims the threats include impeachment warnings against the attorney general and imprisonment threats against Republican donors.
• The allegations come from TSN and rambler.ru, which is a propaganda-type source, and no independent outlet has confirmed the letters.

Trump directs Justice Department inquiry

President Donald Trump said he has instructed the Department of Justice to open an immediate investigation into the conduct of Democratic Party leaders, accusing them of sending letters containing threats to a large number of people he described as entirely innocent (Трамп доручив Мін’юсту розслідувати дії демократів: у чому їх звинувачує – TSN). He made the statement in a post on his Truth Social platform.

He described the conduct as extortion on a high level and a form of legal warfare (Трамп поручил расследовать угрозы импичментом республиканцам от демократов – rambler.ru). He also cited Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, saying she intended to pursue young people who back Republican values; the claim is his and has not been independently confirmed.

Context and reactions

Trump had earlier attacked Democrats and raised the prospect of impeachment.

According to rambler.ru, a Russian state-linked outlet, Trump also said that the threats were directed at donors who are, in his words, among the most respected people in the world, solely because they support Republicans. That account comes from a propaganda-type source, and no independent media in the United States in the available materials confirm the specifics of these threats or the existence of the letters.

No evidence supporting the existence of the letters or their authors has been reported by independent outlets in the materials reviewed. The Justice Department has not been reported as confirming an investigation.