A federal grand jury refused to hand up an indictment Tuesday against six Democratic lawmakers accused by President Trump of “seditious behavior” this past fall.
DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro led the failed effort to indict Reps. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Maggie Goodlander (D-NH), Chris Deluzi (D-Pa.) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) and Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) over a video posted on social media this past November urging members of the military and intelligence community to “refuse illegal orders.”
The grand jury decision was first reported by NBC News.
Slotkin, who previously accused Trump of “directing the FBI to target us” and “weaponizing the federal government” against her and her colleagues, wrote on X: “Today, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro attempted to persuade a Grand Jury to indict me.”
“This was in response to me organizing a 90-second video that simply quoted the law.
“Pirro did this at the direction of President Trump, who said repeatedly that I should be investigated, arrested, and hanged for sedition.”
Slotkin said the grand jury “upheld the rule of law and determined this case should not proceed.”
“Hopefully, this ends this politicized investigation for good,” she added, describing the effort to indict her as “an embarrassing day for the Administration” and “another sad day for our country.”
“[W]hether or not Pirro succeeded is not the point. It’s that President Trump continues to weaponize our justice system against his perceived enemies. It’s the kind of thing you see in a foreign country, not in the United States we know and love,” Slotkin concluded.
“No matter what President Trump and Pirro continue to do with this case, tonight we can score one for the Constitution, our freedom of speech, and the rule of law.”
Kelly called the attempt to bring charges an “outrageous abuse of power by Donald Trump and his lackies.”
“Donald Trump wants every American to be too scared to speak out against him,” the senator said in a post on X. “The most patriotic thing any of us can do is not back down.”
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Two days after the video featuring the six lawmakers was released Nov. 18, Trump posted on Truth Social that “[e]ach one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL. Their words cannot be allowed to stand – We won’t have a Country anymore!!! An example MUST BE SET.”
“SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” the president raged in a subsequent post.
Soon after, the FBI began contacting the sextet to schedule interviews, while the Pentagon opened an investigation into Kelly, citing a federal law that allows retired service members to be recalled to active duty for possible court-martial or other punishment.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth has censured Kelly for participating in the video and is trying to retroactively demote Kelly from his retired rank of captain.
The senator is suing Hegseth to block those proceedings, calling them an unconstitutional act of retribution.
With Post wires
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