White House Counsel Warns Rep. Garcia Oversight Plans Could Be Criminal
White House counsel Will Scharf told Rep. Robert Garcia, the Democrat set to chair the House Oversight Committee, that aggressive investigations could amount to criminality. Garcia says Congress needs no White House permission. President Trump has ordered the Justice Department to look into Democrats' threats.
White House counsel Will Scharf warned Rep. Robert Garcia, the California Democrat who will soon chair the House Oversight Committee, in a letter this week that Democratic oversight plans could amount to criminal conduct. The warning is unusual because congressional oversight of the executive branch is a core function of Congress.
The letter, dated Monday, says Garcia's plans to seek records and interviews from the administration next year could "cross the line into blatant criminality." Scharf added that "issuing unlawful subpoenas with the intention of depriving citizens of their constitutional rights and privileges may warrant further investigation."
What the letter says
Scharf cited public statements by Democrats previewing aggressive investigations. After Democrats won back the House in the midterms, Garcia wrote in a social media post that Oversight Democrats were ready to take on "the crooks, the con men, and the Trump crime family." His message ended: "Lawyer up."
Scharf argued that such statements show any future subpoenas would "harass and aggrandize, rather than to advance any legitimate legislative end." He also pointed to Garcia's comments on a podcast and a social media post using an image from the film "It."
He cited two Supreme Court rulings that limit congressional investigations: Watkins v. United States (1954) and Trump v. Mazars USA, LLP (2020). Watkins held that committees can compel only testimony tied to a legislative purpose. Mazars set standards for subpoenas seeking private records, including the president's.
Garcia's response
Garcia rejected the claims. "It appears Donald Trump has something to hide," he said in a statement. He said Congress's authority comes from Article I of the Constitution, "not from the permission of the White House."
"We are a co-equal branch of government and will not be deterred by baseless threats from a weaponized DOJ or from the President's lawyers," Garcia added. His spokesperson said the Oversight Committee had not formally received the letter as of Wednesday morning.
Legal experts' views are not part of the letter, but the law is plain on some points. Lawmakers have broad protection under the Constitution's Speech or Debate Clause, and the Supreme Court has set a very high bar for what counts as a true threat under federal law. It is unclear how the statements Scharf cites could implicate federal criminal statutes.
Wider tensions
President Donald Trump has also weighed in. In a Truth Social post, he called Democrats' threats to investigate the administration "illegal" and said he was "ordering the Department of Justice to look into this criminal act, immediately!"
The administration has already tried to prosecute several Democratic members of Congress. Grand juries refused to indict six lawmakers who appeared in a video urging military servicemembers to disobey illegal orders. A case against Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) over alleged falsities in immigration paperwork is still ongoing.
Garcia is due to take over the Oversight gavel when the new Democratic-led House convenes next year.
