Now is a moment for offense

As a former CIA officer, I've seen democracies flicker out.

In November, myself and five other Members of Congress made a video quoting current law, that the military has a responsibility to refuse illegal orders. In response, President Trump tweeted more than a dozen times, calling for me to be investigated, arrested, and hanged. Since then, the FBI and former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, now U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, asked to interview me for the inquiry. I wanted to share an important update on all of this, and ask for your help. I wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi and U.S. Attorney Pirro to inform them that I won't be doing an interview -- and that their offices should preserve their records should I decide to sue for their infringement on my Constitutional rights. I am not going to legitimize what they're doing. The video in question was public, and I've talked about it extensively in the open. Our Constitution is crystal clear about our freedom of speech – and that's a value worth fighting for. To be honest, very smart people have told me to keep my head down and be quiet – that doing so would make this inquiry go away. But that's exactly what Trump and Pirro want. They are employing physical and legal intimidation to get me to shut up. And, much more importantly, to deter other people from criticizing them. So I'm taking the opposite approach, and I am fighting back, because this is bigger than any one Senator or any one video. If they can do this to me, what can they do to a business leader or the head of a community foundation or a mom who goes viral on the internet for criticizing Donald Trump? And what people like Jeanine Pirro need to understand is that while the President of the United States may have immunity according to the Supreme Court, those who do his bidding do not. And if they are going to salute and do what he wants as part of this weaponization, they are going to own those consequences. We all own our choices. I own mine. And Pirro and Trump must own theirs. This is where I need your help. As I've said before, fighting back against these abuses of power requires a political strategy and a legal strategy. We're opening up an entire new front on the legal strategy -- one that goes on offense. But taken together, it requires resources, and that is why I am asking: Can you please split a contribution between my campaign and Josh Harder to help us continue fighting back against the attacks on me and on our Constitution from a president hell-bent on revenge against those who speak out? If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your payment will go through immediately: DONATE $5 → DONATE $10 → DONATE $25 → DONATE $50 → DONATE $100 → DONATE OTHER → I've asked people to fight back and push back. And if I am going to live the values that I preach, that means I have to take some additional risk myself. That is what I am doing, and I appreciate your support as we go forward. Elissa Slotkin CONTRIBUTE NOW » Josh Harder for Congress PO Box 4220 Manteca, CA 95337 United States unsubscribe