U.S. attorney demands senator preserve ballroom inquiry documents

Justice Department targets senator's inquiry

Aaron Reitz, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas, demanded Senator Richard Blumenthal preserve documents from his investigation into White House ballroom donors, threatening significant legal consequences.

Reitz accuses senator of harassment

Reitz alleged Blumenthal's investigation equated to threatening citizens for associating with the President and other public officials, equating the inquiry to wielding Congress as a weapon against Americans.

Reitz invokes First Amendment concerns

In a post on X with the letter attached, Reitz said he was taking the first step to stop what he called abuse of power, citing federal conspiracy and deprivation of rights statutes.

“I'm taking the first step to stop this abuse of power.”

Deputy attorney general backs Reitz

Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter, the second-highest-ranking official at the Justice Department, responded that the First Amendment prohibits Congress from infringing speech and association rights of Americans.

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

Blumenthal refuses to back down

Blumenthal said he will not be intimidated and vowed to vigorously pursue investigations into the administration's misuse of taxpayer dollars and corporate entities that enabled their corruption.

“will not be intimidated”

Senator accuses DOJ of weaponization

Blumenthal wrote that the Trump administration is so afraid of transparency and oversight that they are weaponizing the Justice Department to baselessly target Congress in direct violation of the Constitution.

Blumenthal's investigation targets ballroom donors

Blumenthal, top Democrat on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, sent letters last month to people identified as having donated private funds to the roughly four hundred million dollar ballroom construction…

DOJ says investigation suppresses donors

A Justice Department spokesperson said the department routinely requests records be preserved when public officials take extreme actions, alleging Blumenthal's letters attempted to suppress First Amendment activities including philanthropic practices.

Reitz's background and the ballroom project

Reitz, a former chief of staff to Senator Ted Cruz, headed the Justice Department's Office of Legal Policy before launching an unsuccessful campaign for Texas attorney general. He has been U.S. attorney since July.

Supreme Court clears ballroom project

Trump's ballroom project faced legal hurdles but the Supreme Court decided in August that it could go forth indefinitely, clearing the way for the roughly four hundred million dollar construction to continue.