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United States (US) President Donald Trump has ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate Democratic leaders over what he described as threats to impeach public officials and punish political opponents.
Trump announced the directive in a social media post on Saturday. However, he did not provide evidence to support his claims.
“I am going to order the Department of Justice to investigate this criminal act immediately!” he wrote.
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The US president accused Democrats of using their new congressional majority to target Republicans through investigations and possible removals from office.
He alleged that Democratic leaders had threatened to remove several people, including the US Attorney General, despite having no grounds to do so.
“This is extortion at the highest level and they should be held accountable for it,” Trump said.
He also claimed that Republican donors had faced threats of imprisonment and other forms of punishment.
“Jail should be for those who extort and Republicans need to be ready, quickly! Democratic political leaders have sent threatening letters to a lot of people, all of them innocent,” he wrote.
Trump also singled out Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan. He accused her of threatening to target young people who support Republican values.
The directive comes after Democrats won major victories in Tuesday’s midterm elections, giving them control of both chambers of Congress.
The new majority, which takes effect in January, could launch congressional investigations into members of the Trump administration and other public officials.
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Potential areas of scrutiny include allegations of wealth accumulation by the Trump family, corruption claims, the administration’s immigration policies and the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.
Democratic lawmakers have also discussed possible investigations and impeachment proceedings involving administration officials.
However, Trump has described such moves as political attacks and warned Republicans to prepare for what he called an attempt to use the justice system against them.
