By NANCY WEST, InDepthNH.org
A federal grand jury has refused to indict six congressional Democrats, including Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander, D-NH, for a short video they made last November telling members of the military they should not follow “illegal orders,” Goodlander confirmed Wednesday.
“President Trump directed the Justice Department to investigate me, arrest me, and hang me simply for doing my job,” Goodlander said in an email response to InDepthNH.org. “Today an American grand jury honored our Constitution by standing up to an outrageous abuse of presidential power and taxpayer dollars. No matter the threats, I will keep doing my job and upholding my oath to our Constitution.”
The New York Times reported: “The rejection was a remarkable rebuke, suggesting that ordinary citizens did not believe that the lawmakers had committed any crimes.”
The U.S. Department of Justice didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
The video infuriated President Trump. He said on social media at the time that the six Democrats had engaged in “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH” and that they should be arrested.
According to The Guardian, the video, featured the six Democratic lawmakers who have previously served in the military or in intelligence roles, including Senators Elissa Slotkin and Mark Kelly, and Representatives Maggie Goodlander, Chris Deluzio, Chrissy Houlahan and Jason Crow.
“Like us, you all swore an oath to protect and defend this constitution,” the lawmakers said in the 90-second video. “And right now, the threats to our constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but from right here at home. Our laws are clear, you can refuse illegal orders, you can refuse illegal orders, you must refuse illegal orders. No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our constitution,” The Guardian quoted from the video.
Goodlander’s video response in November: https://x.com/RepGoodlander/status/1991624370595459422
CBS News reported Wednesday that “The Democratic lawmakers are the latest Trump foes that the Justice Department has sought criminal charges against, following former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.”
The news of the declined indictment was first reported by The New York Times.