Threatened by Democratic commissions of inquiry after his defeat in the midterms, Donald Trump cries “blackmail”

Donald Trump said on Saturday that he was ordering his Justice Department to investigate Democrats' threats, described as "blackmail", to use their future majority in Congress to initiate impeachment proceedings against members of his government.

The US president faces a profoundly transformed and hostile political landscape after the Democrats' resounding victory in the mid-term elections on Tuesday, which allowed them to take control of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Democratic leaders have indicated that one of the priorities of the new majority would be to launch parliamentary investigations against Donald Trump, his government, and those close to him, whom they accuse in particular of corruption. The Ministers of Defense, Pete Hegseth, and of Justice, Todd Blanche could be particularly targeted.

“This is blackmail at the highest level, and they should answer for it,” the Republican billionaire lambasted the Republican billionaire on his Truth Social platform, who affirmed that “no act punishable by impeachment” had been committed. Denouncing an “instrumentalization” of justice, he indicated that he had ordered the Ministry of Justice to “immediately” investigate “this criminally reprehensible act”. In a second message, published shortly after, he judged that these threats from the Democrats were “unprecedented and totally illegal”. “These TRASH should go to prison for what they do,” he said.

Two “impeachment” procedures during the last term

Investigations by parliamentary committees could lead to subpoenas and, ultimately, impeachment proceedings that could lead to dismissal. However, these would have little chance of success due to the two-thirds majority required in the Senate.

After initiating two impeachment procedures against Donald Trump during his first term, Democratic leaders, however, seem reluctant to embark on a third attempt, which would risk galvanizing his partisan base.