WASHINGTON — U.S. Attorney Aaron F. Reitz gave Sen. Elizabeth Warren formal notice in a Nov. 15 letter to preserve all documents tied to what he called her intent to weaponize congressional investigations against people who associate with President Donald Trump, and he asked her to confirm in writing by Nov. 23 that she has done so.
Reitz, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas, published the two-page letter in a post on X on Nov. 15. The subject line calls it a preservation demand and cites conduct implicating 18 U.S.C. §§ 241 and 242, the federal civil rights statutes named in the letter.
The letter opens with Warren’s Nov. 8 appearance on Face the Nation, one week after the 2026 midterm elections. Reitz wrote that host Margaret Brennan described Warren as the expected incoming Senate Banking Committee chair and noted her wish to bring big tech CEOs, Wall Street executives and giant corporations that may have broken the law to face consequences, and that Warren agreed and added that those people had better get ready for serious investigations.
The context, Reitz wrote, “sends a strong smoke signal”: Warren plans to target private individuals close to Trump. He cited her attack, in that interview, on a White House that she said would not enforce the laws and had dropped investigations — “oh, if you make a nice contribution to Donald Trump’s ballroom then there won’t be any enforcement of the law.”
He also cited Warren’s Time magazine op-ed, in which she wrote that Trump has tried to reengineer the federal government into a corruption machine for himself, his family and his cronies. Reitz described the op-ed as confirming who she intends to target.
The Nov. 11 letter
Reitz called Warren’s Nov. 11 letter more pointed still. Joined by Sen. Blumenthal and Rep. Garcia, she wrote to a private citizen, Trump fundraiser Meredith O’Rourke, demanding sweeping information about her and about other private citizens and entities who associate with Trump, according to the letter and its cited Warren press release.
Her Sept. 28 letter followed the same pattern, Reitz wrote. With Sens. Blumenthal and Slotkin, Warren accused several technology companies of having spent lavishly to stay on the good side of Trump and of benefiting personally and financially, and she threatened them with future investigative action, the letter said.
A warning on the limits of investigations
In sum, Reitz wrote, Warren appears eager to wield her future gavel like a tomahawk, hunting for the scalps of Trump’s private associates. Any investigation she and her Senate Democratic colleagues launch from the majority must have a legitimate legislative purpose, he wrote, and Congress may not use investigations to exercise the criminal prosecution powers reserved to the executive and judicial branches.
“Investigations conducted solely for the personal aggrandizement of the investigators or to ‘punish’ those investigated are indefensible.”
He also invoked the freedom of association. The American people are entitled to associate freely without elected officials terrorizing them with aggressive, harassing government action, Reitz wrote, and he said Warren’s remarks directed at private citizens and entities for associating with Trump may run afoul of that constitutional right.
The demand covers Warren, her staff, employees, agents, consultants, campaign personnel and anyone acting on her behalf or in concert with her. It reaches all documents, communications and other electronically stored information relevant to the efforts described in the letter, and Reitz warned that failure to preserve them may result in sanctions, adverse-inference instructions or other penalties.
Reitz asked Warren to confirm in writing by 6 p.m. Eastern Time on Nov. 23, 2026, that she received the letter and has taken steps to preserve the materials.