White House counsel Will Scharf has warned Rep. Robert Garcia, the California Democrat expected to chair the House Oversight Committee in January, that some of the investigations Democrats are promising “may cross the line into blatant criminality,” according to a letter reported by CBS News and NBC News. Garcia says his committee will not back down.
The letter, dated Monday, Nov. 9, reminded Garcia that congressional investigations must be backed by a “legitimate legislative purpose,” CBS News reported. NBC News reported that a White House official shared the letter with the network on Wednesday.
If Donald Trump thinks his threats are going to stop us from investigating the rampant corruption in his administration, he is mistaken. We are going to keep fighting for justice. pic.twitter.com/wJbdbNVUZv
— Congressman Robert Garcia (@RepRobertGarcia) November 13, 2026
What the letter says
“Beyond being inconsistent with the clear, well-recognized constitutional limitations on your investigative functions, threats to executive branch officials designed to deter them from public service, or process designed merely to abuse or instill fear in the recipient may cross the line into blatant criminality,” Scharf wrote, according to CBS News. He added that “issuing unlawful subpoenas with the intention of depriving citizens of their constitutional rights and privileges may warrant further investigation,” CBS News reported.
Scharf wrote that the administration is “monitoring the abusive and capricious threats that are now proliferating from Democrat legislators who seek to abuse the legislative process to intimidate and to interfere with the lawful functioning of government,” according to NBC News. KMBC reported that the letter cited public statements such as Garcia’s election-night warning to Trump officials to “lawyer up.”
NBC News reported that the White House pointed to Supreme Court rulings holding that congressional investigations must be tied to a legitimate legislative purpose. NBC News also noted that House and Senate committees under both parties have broad authority to investigate and have rarely been stopped by the courts.
Garcia: ‘Not going to work’
“It appears Donald Trump has something to hide,” Garcia said in a statement, according to CBS News. “Congress’ authority comes from Article I of the Constitution, not from the permission of the White House,” he said, CBS News reported.
In a later TV interview, Garcia said “the idea that the president, the attorney general, the White House legal team is trying to intimidate us is not going to work,” according to KMBC. Garcia wrote in a post on X on Thursday that if Trump “thinks his threats are going to stop us from investigating the rampant corruption in his administration, he is mistaken.”
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., the likely next House speaker, called the letter “outrageous” and “legally inaccurate,” NBC News reported.
KMBC reported that Garcia has floated probes into the Trump family’s crypto and minerals business dealings, the administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, ICE operations and construction projects such as the White House ballroom.
Voters’ priorities
Breitbart News reported that an October AP-NORC poll found voters in both parties want the next Congress to focus on lowering costs and ending the conflict with Iran rather than investigating the administration. Breitbart also cited a CNN analysis of a post-election Reuters/Ipsos poll that found investigating the Trump administration was about tied for the lowest of eight possible priorities for the new Democratic majorities.
President Trump wrote on Truth Social that Democrats are “threatening a lot of people, including the Attorney General of the United States,” with impeachment and other punishment, calling it “extortion at the highest level,” according to Breitbart News. Attorney General Todd Blanche has acknowledged that Congress has oversight authority and said the Justice Department would cooperate with lawmakers’ inquiries, KMBC reported.
Democrats take control of the House and Senate in January.
Sources
Sources cited
- https://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-house-counsel-will-scharf-house-oversight-committee-robert-garcia-investigations/
- https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/white-house-warns-congressional-democrats-investigating-us-may-crime-rcna608752
- https://www.kmbc.com/article/white-house-warns-democrats-proposed-investigations/74409482
- https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/11/12/polls-show-voters-have-little-interest-in-investigating-trump-administration/
Sources
- Original post: Congressman Robert Garcia (@RepRobertGarcia) on X, Nov 12, 2026
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