U.S. attorney demands Sen. Richard Blumenthal preserve documents from his inquiry into White House ballroom

A Justice Department official called on Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., on Wednesday to preserve documents related to what he claims is harassment of citizens during Blumenthal’s investigation into White House ballroom donors, threatening “significant legal consequences” if he does not comply.

The U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas, Aaron Reitz, alleged in a letter to Blumenthal that his investigation equated to threatening “citizens for associating themselves with the President and other public officials.” The White House warned congressional Democrats on Wednesday that efforts to investigate the administration could be a crime.

In a post on X with a copy of the letter attached, Reitz equated Blumenthal’s investigation examining anonymous donors for the roughly $400 million project on White House grounds with wielding Congress as a “weapon” against Americans.

“I’m taking the first step to stop this abuse of power,” Reitz said.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter, the second-highest-ranking official at the Justice Department, responded to Reitz’s post, saying, “The First Amendment expressly prohibits Congress from infringing the speech and association rights of Americans.”

“DOJ will defend against threats to those rights, period,” McCotter wrote.

Blumenthal said in a statement responding to the letter that he “will not…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business