'Very chilling': GOP senators slam Trump admin's bungled indictment attempt against Dems

With President Donald Trump's Justice Department trying, and failing, to secure a criminal indictment against Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) for their roles in a video advising active-duty troops they must refuse illegal orders, Senate Republicans are coming out of the woodwork to condemn the administration having even attempted this in the first place, NOTUS reported on Wednesday evening.

“It’s very chilling, right? As a member of Congress, we have the Speech and Debate Clause. Not only as a member, but it’s a First Amendment right of speech here,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), a frequent critic of the president, told NOTUS.

Meanwhile, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), who faces a tough re-election battle this fall, said, “I’m not surprised that the grand jury declined to indict them,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). “I don’t think they should have [tried to indict them]. I spoke out about that very early on.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who faces a primary challenge backed by Trump, said, “I would not have brought it were I the president.”

Even some Republican lawmakers who are more loyal to Trump, and who agreed with his fury over the Democratic video, expressed similar opinions. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) told NOTUS, “[the video showed] terrible, terrible judgment, but I think trying to indict them for it was not a good idea.”

And Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), one of the longest-serving Republicans in Congress, told reporters, “I think our law enforcement people ought to be spending their time on making our community safe and going after real law-breakers.”

In the immediate aftermath of the video, Trump even went so far as to suggest in a Truth Social rant that the Democratic lawmakers who participated deserve the death penalty.

The video was made as the Trump administration came under fire for military actions believed to be unlawful by legal experts, including bombing ships in the Caribbean for alleged drug-running, and the deployment of the National Guard to suppress protesters in a number of Democratic-favoring cities.