White House Warns Democrats Their Oversight Could Be Criminal

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Greetings once again and welcome to Political Science. It's Thursday, November 12th. Let's see what the hell's been going on.

The White House has put it in writing: investigating the Trump administration could be a crime. In a three-page letter that became public Wednesday, White House counsel Will Scharf told Robert Garcia, the California Democrat in line to chair the House Oversight Committee in January, that his party's plans "may cross the line into blatant criminality." Scharf wrote that threats meant to deter officials from public service, and subpoenas designed "merely to abuse or instill fear," could warrant an investigation of their own.

What prompted this was mostly talk. After the midterms, Garcia posted that Oversight Democrats were ready to take on "the crooks, the con men, and the Trump crime family," and added, "Lawyer up." Democrats say they want to examine how the Trump family has grown richer since he returned to office, the handling of the Epstein files and the White House ballroom.

The letter cites real law: the Supreme Court has said a congressional subpoena needs a legislative purpose. But when a subpoena goes too far, the usual consequence is that a court declines to enforce it. Prosecuting the lawmakers who sent it would be a far bigger step, and the Constitution specifically shields members of Congress from punishment for legislative work.

Garcia replied that "it appears Donald Trump has something to hide," and that Congress does not need "the permission of the White House." Meanwhile Attorney General Todd Blanche, who said Sunday that "there could be" a crime to investigate, told an audience in Missouri this week, "Congress has oversight authority. It always has, it always will." So the warning now comes from the president's lawyer, who can't charge anyone, while the official who can is talking it down.

Mississippi is sending a Democrat to the Senate. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith conceded Wednesday evening to Scott Colom, a district attorney who led by 65 votes on election night. The Associated Press has him ahead 49.2 percent to 48.7. "While this is not the outcome we worked for or hoped for," Hyde-Smith said, "I respect the decision of Mississippi voters." Colom will be the state's first Democratic senator since 1989 and its first Black senator in more than 140 years. He told supporters that donors had stopped returning his calls.

That makes 55 Democratic seats, with Alaska still out. Mary Peltola's lead there slipped a little, to 3,975 votes, and her campaign declared victory anyway.

What those 55 senators have not settled is who leads them. Bernie Sanders said this week, "I will not be supporting Chuck to be reelected as the Democratic leader," while adding that nobody works harder than Chuck Schumer. Several newly elected senators are withholding support too. Nobody has actually entered the race against him. Schumer's view: "The issue is not me. I'll be reelected as majority leader."

The Abu Dhabi talks ended Wednesday after a second session of less than two hours. Russia and Ukraine agreed in principle to a large prisoner exchange, which a Russian military official said could happen within two or three weeks. Jared Kushner called it "the biggest humanitarian release of prisoners," with the numbers still to be set. On territory, nothing moved, and Kushner said there is no trust between the two sides. He and Steve Witkoff fly to Moscow today to see Vladimir Putin, then to Dublin to meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy. While the delegations talked, a Russian strike on a market in the Odesa region killed three people.

President Trump spent part of Veterans Day at Arlington National Cemetery explaining that the Iran war is already won and also not finished. "We want to make sure we have a total victory, not a 93 percent victory," he said. It is "just a question of when we want to end it." Iran's top security official answered that the country "will not remove even a single particle of enriched nuclear material," which is the main thing Washington wants. And Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has moved out of his Washington home to a military base after Iranian threats against his life, CBS News confirmed.

The Dutch government may not survive the day. Prime Minister Rob Jetten runs a three-party coalition with only 66 of the 150 seats in parliament, so every budget needs outside votes. On Wednesday two of the three parties, Jetten's D66 and the Christian Democrats, found those votes on the left by agreeing to move roughly a billion euros of tax from wages onto wealth. The third partner, the business-friendly VVD, opposes higher wealth taxes and says it was caught completely off guard. Its leader, Dilan Yeşilgöz, who is also the defense minister, says the party will decide after the vote whether it can stay. The vote is today.

And nine members of the Kennedy family have asked a federal judge to let them join the lawsuits against President Trump's 250-foot memorial arch, planned for a traffic circle between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. They are children and grandchildren of Robert and Ted Kennedy, who are buried near John F. Kennedy's eternal flame, and they say the arch would "permanently cast a shadow" over the graves. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. did not join them.

That should do it for today. And remember, if you keep your expectations low, you'll never be disappointed. Thanks for listening, see you next time.