Trump Accuses Democrats as Investigations Loom

Trump posted at 5:50 a.m. ET, accusing Democrats of using claims of administration corruption to distract from what he called corruption in Minnesota, California and other Democratic-led states. He urged Republicans to fight back and said he had not taken a presidential salary.

The post came amid a dispute over investigations Democrats plan to pursue when they take control of Congress. White House counsel Will Scharf warned California Representative Robert Garcia, who is set to lead the House Oversight Committee in January, that investigations into the administration could cross into criminality. Dated Monday, the correspondence became public on Wednesday.

Garcia dismissed the warning as embarrassing and said the White House appeared scared and nervous. Trump, meanwhile, accused Democrats of illegally threatening Republicans with false accusations and charges, just days after the White House warned Democrats about possible criminality.

Trump also repeated claims about his tax returns, saying Democrats’ accountants found he had paid his taxes and complied fully. In 2022, the Supreme Court authorized disclosure of Trump’s returns, which the House panel subsequently acquired. The committee found that the IRS had not conducted required audits of Trump during his first years in office.

Trump further claimed Democrats had won the previous week’s midterm elections through cheating. The report stated there was no evidence of such cheating.

Trump Attacks Democrats After White House Threatens Investigations

Trump’s attack on Democrats came after his own White House threatened criminal consequences over investigations into the administration. In a Truth Social post, he accused Democrats of making false charges against Republicans, even though White House counsel Will Scharf had warned California Representative Robert Garcia that planned probes could cross into criminality.

Garcia, who is set to lead the House Oversight Committee in January, called the warning embarrassing and said the White House seemed scared and nervous. Democrats are preparing to use their coming control of Congress to investigate the administration; Trump’s early-morning post instead cast those inquiries as a distraction from alleged corruption in Democratic-led states.

Trump also claimed Democrats cheated in the previous week’s midterms. There is no evidence of cheating in those elections. His assertion came as he urged Republicans to fight back against the planned investigations.

The tax-return dispute adds another point of tension. Trump said Democrats’ accountants found he paid his taxes and complied fully, while the House panel found that the IRS failed to conduct required audits during his first years in office. The Supreme Court authorized the release of his returns in 2022, after which the committee acquired them.

Trump Pushes Back Against Democrats’ Planned Investigations

Trump used a Truth Social post to challenge Democrats’ planned congressional investigations, accusing them of directing attention away from what he described as corruption in Minnesota, California and other Democratic-led states. He urged Republicans to resist the probes and said Democrats were making false accusations against them.

The White House has also warned Democrats about the investigations. Counsel Will Scharf told California Representative Robert Garcia, expected to lead the House Oversight Committee in January, that probes into the administration could cross into criminality. Garcia dismissed the letter as embarrassing and said the White House appeared scared and nervous.

Trump also renewed his defense over his tax returns, saying Democrats’ accountants found he had paid his taxes and complied fully. The Supreme Court approved disclosure of the returns in 2022, and the House panel later obtained them. Its review found the IRS had failed to conduct required audits during Trump’s first years in office.

Trump claimed Democrats had cheated in the previous week’s midterms, though there is no evidence of cheating. The confrontation now centers on competing accusations as Democrats prepare to investigate the administration and the White House warns of possible criminality.