(WASHINGTON) — The FBI is attempting to schedule interviews with the six Democratic members of Congress who made a video saying troops should not obey any illegal orders, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation.
The FBI would conduct these interviews on behalf of the Justice Department, and it is unclear when the interviews would be held amid the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, the sources said.
Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin, one of the six Democratic lawmakers in the video, said the “FBI’s Counterterrorism Division appeared to open an inquiry” into her.
“The President directing the FBI to target us is exactly why we made this video in the first place. He believes in weaponizing the federal government against his perceived enemies and does not believe laws apply to him or his Cabinet. He uses legal harassment as an intimidation tactic to scare people out of speaking up,” Slotkin said in a post on X on Tuesday.
“This isn’t just about a video. This is not the America I know, and I’m not going to let this next step from the FBI stop me from speaking up for my country and our Constitution,” Slotkin added.
The offices of the House Democrats in the video also released a statement to ABC News confirming the FBI’s attempt to schedule interviews, saying the president is “using the FBI as a tool to intimidate and harass members of Congress.
“No amount of intimidation or harassment will ever stop us from doing our jobs and honoring our Constitution. We swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. That oath lasts a lifetime, and we intend to keep it. We will not be bullied. We will never give up the ship,” the House Democrats said in a statement.
In an interview that aired on X on Monday, FBI Director Kash Patel said career analysts and agents will make any determination on the Democratic lawmakers who urged members of the military to disobey illegal orders, when asked what his reaction to it was.
“Is there a lawful predicate to open up an inquiry and investigation or is there not? And that decision will be made by the career agents and analysts here at the FBI,” Patel said in the interview.
When asked if the FBI was involved, Patel said, “based on the fact that it’s an ongoing matter, there’s not much I can say.”
The U.S. Capitol Police referred questions to the FBI, who declined to comment.
The development was first reported by Fox News.
President Donald Trump has previously accused these members of Congress of “seditious behavior.”
“I’m not threatening death, but I think they’re in serious trouble. In the old days, it was death. … That was seditious behavior, that was a big deal. You know, nothing’s a big deal, today’s a different world,” Trump said last week.
The news of the FBI attempting to schedule these interviews comes after the Pentagon announced it would launch a “thorough review” into Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, who is one of the six members of Congress in the video.
“The military already has clear procedures for handling unlawful orders. It does not need political actors injecting doubt into an already clear chain of command,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday.
On Monday, Hegseth called the six Democrats in the video the “Seditious Six” but explained why the probe is focused solely on Kelly.
“Five of the six individuals in that video do not fall under [Defense Department] jurisdiction (one is CIA and four are former military but not ‘retired’, so they are no longer subject to UCMJ). However, Mark Kelly (retired Navy Commander) is still subject to UCMJ — and he knows that,” Hegseth posted on X.
In response to the FBI scheduling interviews with those in the video, Kelly’s office said the Arizona senator “won’t be silenced.”
“Senator Kelly won’t be silenced by President Trump and Secretary Hegseth’s attempt to intimidate him and keep him from doing his job as a U.S. Senator,” according to a statement from Kelly’s office.
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
