What the White House letter says

White House counsel William Scharf sent Robert Garcia, the ranking member of the House oversight committee, a letter stating that Democratic plans to investigate the president "may cross the line into blatant criminality". Scharf argued that congressional inquiries need a legitimate legislative purpose and cannot be used to punish targets or prepare prosecutions.

The statements the letter cites

The letter sets out examples of what it presents as Democrats' punitive intent:

• •Representative-elect Richard Ojeda of North Carolina saying he wants to see defense secretary Pete Hegseth "squirm"
• •Texas representative-elect Katy Padilla Stout telling witnesses to "put makeup on for the cameras"
• •Representative Yassamin Ansari of Arizona describing accountability as eventually ending in jail
• •Garcia's own "Lawyer Up" campaign, which the letter says shows his intent was "not to legislate, but to intimidate"

Garcia's response

Garcia answered on Wednesday that Trump appears to have "something to hide". He said Congress's authority comes from article I of the constitution, "not from the permission of the White House". He argued that voters backed Democrats to root out corruption and accused the administration of "threats of unconstitutional attacks on Congress". The committee, he said, "will not be deterred by baseless threats from a weaponized DoJ or from the president's lawyers".

The midterm backdrop

The clash follows last week's midterms, in which Democrats won both chambers of Congress and take their largest House majority since 2008 in January. In the NBC News exit poll, the economy was the issue voters named most often, while 90% called corruption a crucial or major factor in their votes. Trump posted on social media that he was not responsible for the Republican losses and later posted an image of a cap embroidered with the word "veto".

When Democrats take their seats in January, the committee's plans meet the White House resistance set out in the letter.