Break It Down!

If you follow the pattern and practice of the Trump administration in recent months, you are probably familiar with Mr. Trump’s pursuit of individuals he perceives as his political enemies, and with the principals in the most recent setback. Six Democratic lawmakers noted below, four Representatives, and two Senators, were contacted by investigators because of a video they posted in November, reminding members of the U.S. Military and intelligence agencies that they do not have to follow illegal orders.

Reps.: Jason Crow, Colorado

             Chris Deluzio & Chrissy Houlahan, Pennsylvania

             Maggie Goodlander, New Hampshire

Sens.: Mark Kelly, Arizona

             Elissa Slotkin, Michigan

Their theatrical foray was met with swift and forceful reaction by the administration in general, and the president in particular, who accused the sextet of sedition, an act so heinous, that under U.S. military law, it is punishable by death.

Within weeks of their action, all six were contacted by federal prosecutors and advised that an investigation into their actions was underway. The DOJ attempted to secure a grand jury indictment. 

It’s worth noting that a grand jury had previously declined to bring an indictment against Letitia James, the New York attorney general who defeated Trump and his company in court. To place a cherry on top, a second set of grand jurors refused to indict Ms. James…within a week. In other developments, a judge dismissed cases against former FBI director James Comey. Mr. Comey argued that the prosecutor was unlawfully installed. The presiding judge agreed.

Back to yesterday’s decision not to indict, all six lawmakers responded to the grand jury decision not to bring an indictment.

Sen. Kelly called the attempt to indict an “outrageous abuse of power.” Kelly added, “It wasn’t enough for Pete Hegseth to censure me and threaten to demote me, now it appears they tried to have me charged with a crime – all because of something I said that they didn’t like. That’s not the way things work in America.” 

Slotkin said in a post on X, “Tonight we can score one for the Constitution, our freedom of speech, and the rule of law.”

Crow issued a warning to the administration, saying Americans “should be appalled by the fact that Donald Trump and his goons at Department of Justice and everywhere else are weaponizing their justice system just to try to silence dissent and to crush political opponents.”

Deluzio said on X, “I will not be intimidated for a single second by the Trump Administration or Justice Department lawyers who tried and failed to indict me today.”

Goodlander responded in a statement saying, “Today an American grand jury honored our Constitution by standing up to an outrageous abuse of presidential power and taxpayer dollars. No matter the threats, I will keep doing my job and upholding my oath to our Constitution.”

Finally, Houlahan said on X, “This is good news for the Constitution and the free speech protections it guarantees. The grand jury upheld the rule of law – this is a win for all Americans.”

Not surprisingly, conversely, House Speaker Mike Johnson, a staunch Trump ally, said the six Democratic lawmakers “probably should be indicted,” after the failed attempts.

The declination is a rebuke of the administration’s efforts to paint the six lawmakers – all of whom served in either the military or intelligence services – as dangerously undermining the president’s authority as commander-in-chief. Meanwhile, the effort to indict, in and of itself, was an extraordinary escalation of DOJ’s willingness to prosecute those who speak against the president and the administration’s actions.

So, in summary, to Trump, Bondi, and Hegseth, “Nice Try; Not So Fast!”

I’m done; holla back!

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https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/10/politics/jury-declines-to-indict-lawmakers-illegal-orders-video

Nice Try; Not So Fast!