Garcia: Trump has 'something to hide' as White House threatens criminal probes

Robert Garcia, the Democrat set to lead the House oversight committee, says it looks like Donald Trump has “something to hide.” He fired back on Wednesday after White House counsel William Scharf sent a letter warning that Democratic plans to investigate the administration “may cross the line into blatant criminality.” Garcia called the warning “baseless threats” and said he won't back down.

Scharf's letter argued that congressional inquiries need a legitimate legislative purpose and can't be used to punish targets or tee up prosecutions. Garcia rejected the premise outright, saying Congress's authority comes from article I of the constitution, “not from the permission of the White House.” He added: “The American people voted overwhelmingly for us to pass laws to root out corruption and abuse,” and accused the administration of weaponizing government with “threats of unconstitutional attacks on Congress.”

The White House letter also quoted incoming Democratic lawmakers. It said Representative-elect Richard Ojeda of North Carolina wants defense secretary Pete Hegseth to “squirm,” that Texas representative-elect Katy Padilla Stout told witnesses to “put makeup on for the cameras,” and that Representative Yassamin Ansari of Arizona described accountability as ending in jail. It singled out Garcia's “Lawyer Up” campaign, saying his intent was “not to legislate, but to intimidate.”

Corruption ranked high with voters in last week's midterms. While the economy was the top problem named in the NBC News exit poll, 90% of voters called corruption a crucial or major factor in their votes. Democrats, who campaigned on tackling those issues, won control of both chambers and arrive in January with their largest House majority since 2008.

Trump wrote on social media that he wasn't responsible for the Republican losses, then posted an image of a cap embroidered with the word “veto.” Garcia was unmoved. “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,” he said.