WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan is refusing to voluntarily comply with a Justice Department investigation into a video she made urging U.S. troops to resist “illegal orders” — escalating a dispute that President Donald Trump has publicly promoted.
In letters first obtained by The Associated Press, Slotkin’s attorney informed U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro for the District of Columbia that the senator would not agree to a voluntary interview about the video. Slotkin’s legal team also requested that Pirro preserve all documents related to the matter for “anticipated litigation.”
Slotkin’s attorney wrote separately to Attorney General Pam Bondi, refusing to participate in an FBI interview about the video and urging her to immediately end any investigation.
The refusal marks a potential turning point in the impasse, shifting the onus on the Justice Department to decide whether to step up an investigation into sitting members of Congress or withdraw from an investigation that is now openly contested.
“I did it to get on offense,” Slotkin said in an interview Wednesday. “And to put them in a position where they’re tap dancing. To put them in a position where they have to own their choice to use a U.S. attorney’s office to come after a senator.”
“It won’t stop unless I fight back”
Last November, Slotkin joined five other Democratic lawmakers — all of whom previously served in the military or intelligence agencies — in posting a 90-second video urging members of the U.S. military to follow established military protocols and reject orders they deem illegal.
Lawmakers said the Republican Trump administration was “pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens” and asked the troops to “uphold our laws.”
The video caused a storm in Republican circles and soon attracted the attention of Trump, who accused the lawmakers of rioting and said their actions were “punishable by death.”
The Pentagon later announced it had opened an investigation into Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, a former Navy pilot who appeared in the video. The FBI then contacted the lawmakers to request interviews, signaling a broader Justice Department investigation.
Slotkin said several legal advisers initially urged caution.
“Maybe if you shut up, it will all be gone by Christmas,” Slotkin said he was told.
But in January, the issue erupted again, with lawmakers saying they were contacted by the U.S. attorney’s office in the District of Columbia.
Meanwhile, security threats have increased. Slotkin said her farm in Michigan received a bomb threat, her brother received a police detail because of the threats and her parents were beaten in the middle of the night.
Her father, who died in January after a long battle with cancer, “could barely walk and he’s dealing with the police in his house,” she said.
Slotkin said a “switch went off” in her and she became enraged: “And I said, ‘It’s not going to go off if I don’t fight back.’
Democratic senators draw a line
The requests from the FBI and the Department of Justice were voluntary. Slotkin said her legal team has been in communication with prosecutors, but that officials “continue to request an in-person interview.”
Slotkin’s attorney, Preet Bharara, in the letter to Pirro, declined an interview request and asked him to “immediately conclude any open investigation and cease any further investigation into the video.” In the other letter, Bharara urged Bondi to use her authority to direct Pirro to close the investigation.
Bharara wrote that Slotkin’s constitutional rights were violated and said litigation is being considered.
“All options are certainly on the table,” Slotkin said. Asked if she would comply with a subpoena, she paused before replying, “I would look at it carefully.”
Bharara, who represents Slotkin in the case, is a former New York U.S. attorney who was fired by Trump in 2017 during his first administration. He also represents Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California in a separate case involving the Justice Department.
Kelly has similarly pushed back, suing the Pentagon last month over attempts to punish him for the video. On Tuesday, a federal judge said he knew of no US Supreme Court precedent to justify the Pentagon’s censure of Kelly as he considered whether to intervene.
Slotkin said he is in contact with the other lawmakers who appeared in the video, but did not say what their plans are in the investigations.
A growing profile
Trump has frequently and consistently targeted his political opponents. In some cases, these attacks had the unintended consequence of elevating their national status.
In Kelly’s case, he raised more than $12.5 million in the final months of 2025 following the “illegal orders” video controversy, according to campaign finance filings.
Slotkin, like Kelly, has been mentioned among Democrats as possible candidates for the presidency in 2028.
She previously represented one of the nation’s most competitive districts before winning a Senate seat in Michigan in 2024 even as Trump carried the state.
Slotkin gave the Democrats’ response to Trump’s speech to Congress last year and has since urged his party to confront him more aggressively, saying Democrats have lost their “alpha energy” and asking them to “go nuclear” against Trump’s redistricting push.
“If I encourage others to take risks, how can I not take risks myself?” Slotkin said. “I think you have to show people that we’re not going to lay down and take it.”