A rift is forming within the FBI on how hard to go after the six Democratic lawmakers President Trump accused of “seditious behavior” over a video imploring military service members to “refuse illegal orders,” according to a report.
FBI domestic terrorism agents and the bureau’s Washington Field Office are under pressure from FBI headquarters to open a formal, seditious conspiracy investigation into Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Reps. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Christopher Deluzio (D-Pa.), Maggie Goodlander (D-NH) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) over their participation in the controversial video, Bloomberg Law reported on Wednesday.
Career leaders at the FBI Washington Field Office, however, are pushing back on the demand, arguing that there is a “lack of legal and factual basis to initiate a criminal case” against the six lawmakers behind the Nov. 18 video, according to the outlet.
Thus far, FBI and Justice Department officials have sought interviews with the veteran Democrats, and the Pentagon launched a review into possible misconduct from Kelly, a retired Navy commander who is still subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, according to War Secretary Pete Hegseth.
A final decision on whether to escalate the FBI probe – by opening a formal criminal investigation – has not yet been made, according to Bloomberg Law.
FBI headquarters did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment. The FBI’s Washington Field Office declined to comment.
Under the Biden administration, the Justice Department used the seditious conspiracy statute to convict 14 leaders of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, including Enrique Tarrio and Stewart Rhodes, for their involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
The FBI domestic terrorism team asked to open the case against the six lawmakers is reportedly the same one that was tasked with investigating the Capitol rioters.
Seditious conspiracy convictions carry a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
Slotkin claimed last week that the “FBI’s Counterterrorism Division appeared to open an inquiry into me,” in a post on X.
The senator accused Trump of “directing the FBI to target us” and “weaponizing the federal government” in response to the video he “did not like.:
“This is not the America I know, and I’m not going to let this next step from the FBI stop me from speaking up for my country and our Constitution,” Slotkin added.
FBI Director Kash Patel was adamant in an interview with journalist Catherine Herridge last week that he would leave it up to “career agents and analysts” to determine if there is a “lawful predicate to open up an inquiry and investigation” into the six Democrats.
