Slotkin declines Justice Department request for interview on Democrat’s video about ‘illegal order’

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Sen. Alyssa Slotkin of Michigan is refusing to comply with a Justice Department investigation into a video in which she voluntarily urged members of the U.S. military to resist “illegal orders” — something President Donald Trump has publicly pushed.

In a letter first obtained by The Associated Press, Slotkin’s lawyer 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 lawyer wrote a separate letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, refusing to sit down for an FBI interview about the video and asking that any investigation be ended immediately.

The denial marks a possible turn of obstruction, shifting the burden to the Justice Department to decide whether it will expand investigations into sitting members of Congress or back away from investigations that are now being openly challenged.

“I did it to get on offense,” Slotkin said in an interview Wednesday. “And to put them in a position to tap dance. To put them in a position where they have to own the options to come after the senator using the U.S. attorney’s office.”

‘It won’t stop until I fight’

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 U.S. service members to follow established military protocols and refuse orders they believe are illegal.

Lawmakers said Trump’s Republican administration is “pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens” and called on troops to “stand up for our laws.”

The video sparked a firestorm in Republican circles and quickly caught the attention of Trump, who accused the lawmakers of treason and said their actions were “punishable by death.”

The Pentagon later announced that 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 for interviews, citing an extensive Justice Department investigation.

Slotkin said many legal advisers initially urged caution.

“Maybe if you shut up, it will all go away by Christmas,” Slotkin said she was told.

But in January, the case flared up again, with lawmakers saying they were contacted by the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Columbia.

Meanwhile, security threats have increased. Slotkin said her farm in Michigan received a bomb threat, her brother was assigned a police detail because of the threat, and her parents were swatted 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 at his house,” she said.

“The switch went off,” Slotkin said, and she became angry: “And I said, ‘It’s not going to stop until I answer back.’

Democratic senators draw the line

The FBI and Justice Department requests were voluntary. Slotkin said his legal team had communicated with prosecutors but authorities “kept asking for an in-person interview.”

Preet Bharara, Slotkin’s lawyer, declined an interview request in a letter to Pirro, saying she would “immediately close any open investigation and cease further investigation into the video.” In another letter, Bharara asked Bondi to use his authority to direct Pirro to close the investigation.

Bharara said that Slotkin’s constitutional rights have been violated and that the case is being prosecuted.

“All options are definitely on the table,” Slotkin said. Asked if she would comply with the subpoena, she paused before replying: “I will look into it very strongly.”

Bharara, who is representing Slotkin in the case, is a former New York U.S. attorney who was fired by Trump in 2017 during his first administration. He is also representing Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California in a separate case involving the Justice Department.

Kelly has similarly pushed back, suing the Pentagon last month in an attempt to punish her for the video. On Tuesday, a federal judge said he knew of no US Supreme Court precedent that would justify the Pentagon’s censure of Kelly as he weighed whether to intervene.

Slotkin said she has been in contact with the other lawmakers who appeared in the video, but she did not say what their plans were in the investigation.

A growing profile

Trump has repeatedly and consistently targeted his political opponents. In some cases, those attacks have had the unintended consequence of raising their national profile.

In Kelly’s case, he raised more than $12.5 million in the final months of 2025 after the “illegal order” video controversy, according to campaign finance filings.

Slotkin, like Kelly, has been mentioned among Democrats who could emerge as presidential contenders in 2028.

She represented one of the nation’s most competitive House districts before winning a Senate seat in Michigan in 2024, even as Trump carried the state.

Slotkin called on the Democratic response to Trump’s address to Congress last year and then urged his party to confront it more aggressively, saying Democrats had lost their “alpha energy” and calling on them to “go nuclear” against Trump’s redistricting push.

“If I’m encouraging other people to take risks, how can I take risks myself?” Slotkin said. “I think you’ve shown people that we’re not going to fold and take it.”