Democratic senators decry indictment attempt, warning it 'could break this institution'

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats took to the Senate floor Wednesday to deliver impassioned speeches denouncing the Justice Department’s attempt to indict a group of lawmakers who last year urged U.S. military members to resist “illegal orders,” framing the episode as a dire test for their chamber and the rule of law.

“The fact that they failed to incarcerate a United States senator should not obviate our outrage. They tried to incarcerate two of us,” said Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii. “I am not entirely sure the United States Senate can survive this if we do not have Republicans standing up.”

Schatz was among a string of Democratic senators who spoke a day after a Washington grand jury declined to indict six Democratic lawmakers, including Sens. Elissa Slotkin and Mark Kelly, over a 90-second video that drew fierce backlash from President Donald Trump.

While Democrats blasted the Trump administration, they also challenged their Republican colleagues to speak out. Sen. Chris Murphy called it a “test for the Senate” that “could break this institution permanently.”

Earlier Wednesday, Slotkin and Kelly praised the grand jury’s decision, with Slotkin saying that “if things had gone a different way, we’d be preparing for arrest.”

“A group of anonymous Americans upheld the rule of law and determined that this case should not proceed,” she said.

The failed indictments mark a high-profile setback for the Justice Department, which has faced mounting scrutiny from Democrats and some Republicans over investigations seen as aligned with Trump’s political grievances. The episode has raised stark First Amendment questions about the potential prosecution of sitting members of Congress for their speech.

“This is not a good news story,” Kelly said. “This is a story about how Donald Trump and his cronies are trying to break our system in order to silence anyone who lawfully speaks out against them.”

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer similarly framed the attempt as a broader free speech threat, saying that if Trump “believes that he can even attempt to jail senators over speech he dislikes, then the First Amendment is no longer a basic right.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said the Justice Department's response “wouldn’t have been my response to that, but we are where we are.”

“The indictment didn’t withstand the scrutiny of a grand jury. It was clear it was not going anywhere,” Thune said.

Two Republicans, Sens. Thom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski, stood out from the otherwise muted reaction in their party. Tillis said that “political lawfare is not normal, not acceptable, and needs to stop,” while Murkowski called it “a very disturbing direction that the administration has taken in basically trying to make criminals out of sitting lawmakers who effectively pointed out what the Uniform Military Code of Justice says.”

Kelly and Slotkin said during a joint press conference that they have not been told what charges prosecutors sought, and it's unclear whether prosecutors plan to keep pursuing the case. The senators sent a letter on Wednesday asking the Justice Department to confirm the investigation is now closed, they said.

The two senators and four House members have been embroiled in fallout from the video for months. Trump reacted angrily to their video, labeling it “seditious” and saying on social media that the offense was “punishable by death.”

All six of the Democratic lawmakers who appeared in the 90-second video served in the military or intelligence communities. They said the video’s purpose was to simply affirm existing law after receiving outreach from members of the military.

On the other side of the Capitol, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana said the video warrants criminal scrutiny. He told MSNow late Wednesday that the lawmakers “probably should be indicted.”

“Anytime you’re obstructing law enforcement and getting in the way of these sensitive operations, it’s a very serious thing, and it probably is a crime. And, yeah, they probably should be indicted,” he said.