Top Dem cries weaponization as comments warning young people not to join Trump admin land her in hot water
Sen.Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., is accusing President Donald Trump of escalating a coordinated "weaponization" campaign against her after he ordered the Justice Department to examine remarks she made warning young Republicans they could face "a ton of problems" if they joined his administration.In a Truth Social post over the weekend, President Trump accused Democrats of political weaponization and singled out Slotkin for "go[ing] after all young people that believe in Republican values" in her October remarks.
"By copy of this statement, I am ordering the Department of Justice to look into this criminal act, immediately!" Trump wrote.In a video response posted Monday, Slotkin defended her remarks, saying she was referring to people who might be asked to violate the law or misuse taxpayer dollars and citing her First Amendment rights."A couple weeks ago, I talked about how anyone who is violating the law or misusing taxpayer dollars should be held accountable, and if there's young people who are thinking of joining people who are doing that, they should think twice," Slotkin said."If you're not violating the law — no problem."DEMS PIVOT FROM 'AFFORDABILITY' PITCH TO DHS PROBE THREATS AFTER MIDTERM WINSTrump faced criticism after posting online about Democrats allegedly urging the military to refuse orders, later clarifying he was not making threats.
(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)Slotkin said Trump began targeting her after her October remarks, first by "name-checking" her from the Oval Office before he "really ramped up his coordinated play" following Democrats’ midterm election gains.She also pointed to Attorney General Todd Blanche's Sunday television appearances discussing possible investigations.
Slotkin said her attorney sent the Justice Department a letter Monday asking, "What are you going to do?"The Justice Department has not confirmed whether it has opened an investigation into Slotkin.During an interview ...