President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he had asked the Justice Department to investigate what he described as Democrats' threats to use their control of Congress to impeach officials in his administration, accusing them of engaging in "extortion."
Trump now faces a drastically different political landscape after Democrats succeeded in taking control of both the Senate and the House in Tuesday's midterm elections. They have pledged to launch investigations into officials in his Republican administration, including Attorney General Todd Blanche and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform, "Democrats continue to threaten many people."
He added that these practices "reach the highest levels of extortion and must be held accountable," insisting that officials in his Republican administration had committed no impeachable offenses.
He said he had instructed the Justice Department to "investigate this criminal act," adding that "prison should be the fate of these extortionists."
With control of committees in both chambers, Democrats can now summon officials, demand documents, and hold public hearings, increasing oversight of Trump and his top aides.
The investigations are likely to include business deals involving Trump and his family, his activities related to cryptocurrencies, government contracts linked to billionaire Elon Musk, cuts to federal agencies, immigration law enforcement measures, as well as the management of the war in Iran and the Jeffrey Epstein case.
The U.S. administration's refusal to provide testimony or documents threatens to trigger legal battles.
Democrats could initiate impeachment proceedings against Trump for the third time, although party leaders have not yet committed to doing so.
While an impeachment charge requires a simple majority in the House, removing the president requires a two-thirds vote in the Senate, a threshold that exceeds Democrats' share of seats in the chamber.
