Three additional Democrats said Wednesday that federal prosecutors have contacted them following their appearance in a video that encouraged members of the military and intelligence community to disregard orders from their superiors. Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania said the outreach came as the Trump administration reviews the video and its implications.
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The lawmakers said they will not retreat despite the scrutiny. Crow accused President Donald Trump of attempting to silence critics, claiming the president had called for his arrest and prosecution. “Now he’s pressuring his political appointees to harass me for daring to speak up and hold him accountable,” Crow said in a statement.
Goodlander echoed those concerns in an emotional post on X, saying it was “sad and telling” that reiterating what she called a basic principle of American law prompted threats from the president. She also criticized the Justice Department for targeting her, calling the situation “downright dangerous,” and insisted the pressure would not intimidate her into silence.
Houlahan similarly defended her role in the video, writing on social media that the lawmakers involved were being targeted not for spreading falsehoods, but for saying something Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not want publicized. She framed the scrutiny as retaliation rather than a legitimate inquiry.
Another participant in the video, Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, said earlier this week that she is also under investigation by Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia and a close ally of Trump. Crow told reporters that Slotkin is facing the same pressure as the other lawmakers, accusing the administration of weaponizing the Justice Department to suppress dissent.
The video, released in November by six former military and intelligence veterans now serving in Congress, urged service members not to follow orders from Trump or Hegseth. Trump condemned the video at the time as “seditious,” saying the conduct could be punishable by death, though he later said he was not explicitly threatening the lawmakers. While prosecutors have not confirmed any investigation, the controversy continues to escalate, with Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona filing a lawsuit this week challenging efforts to discipline him over his role in the video.[/read]