White House / President·First Amendment
DOJ warns Sen. Blumenthal his ballroom-donor probe threatens Americans' freedom of association, orders him to preserve records
Aaron Reitz, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas, wrote that Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is using his investigation of donors to President Trump's privately funded White House ballroom to threaten "citizens for associating themselves with the President" and ordered him to preserve all related records, the Washington Examiner reported. Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said "The First Amendment expressly prohibits Congress from infringing the speech and association rights of Americans." Blumenthal says undisclosed donors may have benefited from "favorable government actions" and has demanded records from companies including Apple, Meta, Google and Nvidia or face possible subpoenas in January 2027.
- Washington ExaminerDOJ frames Blumenthal ballroom investigation as threat against Trump supporters