You Could Face Prosecution – RedState

Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) apparently has a message for younger Americans contemplating a job in President Donald Trump’s administration: Think about what prosecutors would possibly do to you later.

Slotkin, who has repeatedly accused Trump of weaponizing the federal authorities against political opponents, now desires younger conservatives pondering about the results of working for him. She even has a title for it. A “deterrence message.”

The senator was at the University of Chicago on October 13 for a live recording of Vox’s “America, Actually” podcast. Her dialog with editorial director Astead Herndon included Democratic plans for dealing with Trump and officers serving under him.

A 26-second excerpt circulated Saturday. Slotkin was discussing future legal circumstances when she introduced up school graduates contemplating authorities work.

ON UCHICAGO CAMPUS: U.S. Senator from Michigan Elissa Slotkin hopes deliberate political prosecutions of republican leaders will scare younger conservatives from getting concerned in politics. @ElissaSlotkin https://t.co/p7NBJpDcQW

— The Chicago Thinker (@ThinkerChicago) October 17, 2026

“I want to look at these signature cases and not just focus on the president, but on the people who enabled him. I want young people coming out of school to say, ‘Should I go work for the Trump administration? Like that sounds fun. I might get an opportunity.'”

She continued:

“I want them to be like, ‘Lord, that might be buying myself a ton of problems that I don’t want, and so let me avoid participating in that.’ I want that deterrence message sent.”

Odd phrases from somebody who spent the last 12 months calling comparable strain an authoritarian tactic.

The Chicago remarks did not come out of nowhere. Two weeks earlier, at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Slotkin had laid out her plan for Democrats returning to energy. She needed a checklist of “signature cases,” borrowing the thought from Poland’s “Iron Broom” marketing campaign.

Her examples included allegations regarding $200 million in promoting contracts involving Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and a $13 million no-bid contract involving Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. She also urged U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro ought to face skilled penalties if she misused her workplace. Slotkin’s accusations have been conditional, with the alleged wrongdoing still requiring proof.

Those officers are already serving. The college students Slotkin was speaking about in Chicago aren’t. Some would possibly never work in politics at all.

Yet she desires the likelihood of a future legal headache factoring into their choice before they ever set foot in a federal workplace.

Investigating a crime is one factor. Making potential workers worry future prosecution because they need to work for a Republican president is sort of another.

And Slotkin is aware of how that worry works.

In February, a federal grand jury declined to indict her and 5 other Democrat lawmakers over their November 2025 video urging members of the army to refuse unlawful orders. Trump had accused the lawmakers of seditious habits and called for an investigation.

After the grand jury declined to indict, Slotkin accused Trump of weaponizing the justice system. She had been speaking about the strain of a doable prosecution since January, when the investigation was still underway.

As RedState beforehand lined, she told the New York Times:

“Facts matter little, but the threat matters quite a bit. The threat of legal action; the threat to your family; the threat to your staff; the threat to you.”

She understood completely effectively the chilling impact of threatened prosecution, when she was the one being investigated.

Slotkin now desires that concern weighing on people who have not even accepted a authorities job. She never accused those potential workers of committing crimes. She desires them to hear about investigations of Trump’s aides and rethink whether or not the chance is value pursuing.

Slotkin called her own expertise political intimidation. In Chicago, she explained how she hoped the likelihood of future prosecutions would have an effect on a new era of authorities workers.

Apparently, the menace is only troubling when she’s on the receiving end.

Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will decide the destiny of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must keep control of both chambers of Congress.

Help RedState continue to report on the Democrats’ radicalism and inform voters as our nation faces a crossroads. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to obtain 60% off your membership.