U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz has directed Sen. Elizabeth Warren to preserve records related to her congressional inquiries, the latest in a series of warnings from the federal prosecutor to Democratic lawmakers preparing to investigate President Donald Trump’s administration.
In a letter posted Sunday, Reitz alleged that Warren’s planned inquiries target private Americans because of their association with President Trump. He cited federal criminal civil rights laws and asked the Massachusetts Democrat to confirm by 6 p.m. Eastern on November 23 that she received the letter and had taken steps to preserve the records.
White House communications director Steven Cheung backed Reitz on Sunday, accusing Warren and other Democrats of targeting people because they work with or associate with President Trump.
Reitz previously sent a similar demand to Sen. Richard Blumenthal over his inquiry into donors to the White House ballroom project. Blumenthal called the implied threat of an investigation baseless, defended the inquiry as congressional oversight and directed Reitz to preserve his own communications about the letter.
Reitz also sent a preservation demand to Sen. Elissa Slotkin over her comments about holding people around President Trump accountable. Her office said the letter appeared online before she received it.
The letters follow a separate warning from White House counsel Will Scharf to Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, that certain investigative conduct could cross into criminality. Garcia said Democrats would not be intimidated.
Reitz’s demand signals scrutiny of Warren’s conduct, though the letter does not specify whether a formal criminal investigation has been opened. On November 12, Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department had no ongoing criminal investigations into lawmakers’ words. Asked about Reitz’s letter to Blumenthal, he did not clearly say whether that matter was under investigation. His comments came before Sunday’s letter to Warren.