DOJ targets 3 more Dem lawmakers in investigation of ‘unlawful orders’ video

Three more Democratic lawmakers said they were contacted by federal prosecutors investigating their participation in a video last year reminding U.S. military and intelligence service members that they are obligated to refuse illegal orders.

The disclosures from Reps. Chris Deluzio (Pa.), Maggie Goodlander (N.H.) and Chrissy Houlahan (Pa.) means that five of the six lawmakers who appeared in the video are under investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Earlier this week, Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), who organized the video, and Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) also said the DOJ also attempted to contact their offices. The Department of Defense is currently investigating the sixth participant, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.).

The DOJ investigations are being carried out by officials working under Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia and a staunch ally of President Donald Trump. 

It is still unclear what crime Pirro’s office believes the lawmakers may have committed. 

Rather, it appears the probe violates DOJ policy and guidelines, which generally prohibit investigations from being initiated solely based on activities protected by the First Amendment, including protected speech.

In the video, the lawmakers restated a fundamental principle of military law: that service members swear an oath to the Constitution — not a person — that obligates them to disobey unlawful orders.

After the lawmakers released the video, Trump expressed support for imprisoning and executing them, all of whom are military veterans or former intelligence officers, for what he termed “seditious behavior” — a concept that does not exist under U.S. law.

“By sending the FBI and now DOJ after Rep. Deluzio and the other Members of Congress who stated the law in a recent video, it’s obvious that this Administration is engaged in a harassment campaign against their political rivals,” Zoe Bluffstone, a spokesperson for Deluzio, said in a statement to Democracy Docket. 

In a video statement posted on social media, Goodlander also said she would not be intimidated by the DOJ’s probe. 

“It is sad, telling and downright dangerous that simply stating a bedrock principle of American law caused the president, our commander in chief, to threaten violence against me and to weaponize the Department of Justice against me,” Goodlander said.

It’s unclear whether Pirro’s office has also contacted Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.). 

In December, the Pentagon launched an investigation into Kelly at Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s direction for his participation in the video. Hegseth has also moved to reduce Kelly’s retired Navy rank and pension in retaliation, though the senator sued the defense secretary over that effort this week.

Pirro’s investigations appear to be separate from the FBI’s inquiry into the lawmakers, which is being carried out by its counter-terrorism division.