司法部检察官 Aaron Reitz 致函参议员 Blumenthal：要求保全白宫宴会厅捐款调查记录并警告法律后果
美国华盛顿，司法部德克萨斯南区联邦检察官 Aaron Reitz 11月11日致函康涅狄格州民主党参议员 Richard Blumenthal，要求他保全与白宫宴会厅捐款人调查有关的全部文件、通讯和电子记录，并在11月18日前确认已经照办，警告不照办将面临重大法律后果。
Reitz 在函中称，Blumenthal 向宴会厅捐款人发出的一系列调查函，意在剥夺公民的核心宪法权利，援引了联邦法中关于串谋侵害权利与以法律名义剥夺权利的两条罪名（18 U.S.C. 241 与 242）。他写道，Blumenthal 是在威胁那些只是因为与总统及其他公职人员往来而行善的公民，一名民选官员用咄咄逼人的骚扰性政府行动恐吓公民，是极不寻常的事，美国人有权自由往来，不受这种对待。Reitz 还在社交平台贴出这封函，称该调查把国会变成了针对美国人的武器。
司法部代理副部长 Trent McCotter 公开支持 Reitz，称第一修正案明确禁止国会侵犯美国人的言论与结社权利，司法部将捍卫这些权利不受威胁。司法部发言人另表示，当公职人员采取这类极端行动时，该部例行要求保全记录，并称 Blumenthal 的函件意在压制捐款人的第一修正案活动，包括他们的慈善行为。
Blumenthal 是参议院常设调查小组委员会的民主党首席成员，并将在明年1月新一届国会开幕时接任该小组委员会主席。他自去年起牵头调查白宫宴会厅等首都工程中的浪费、欺诈与滥权问题，今年10月20日与11月5日先后向数十名已知捐款人发函，包括 Amazon、Apple、BlackRock、Google、Lockheed Martin、Meta、Microsoft、Nvidia 与 Palantir 等公司，要求自愿交出与捐款有关的记录，并表示若在2027年1月4日前不交，将考虑在民主党接掌议事槌后发出传票。
这座宴会厅由私人捐款出资兴建，造价约3.3亿至4亿美元，规划面积9万平方英尺，建在已拆除的白宫东翼原址，预计2028年9月完工。特朗普曾表示会公布捐款人名单，目前只公布了部分名单。今年8月，最高法院以分裂表决放行工程继续施工，驳回了国家历史保护信托的挑战。
Blumenthal 11月11日晚间回应称，他不会被吓退，将有力推进对本届政府一再滥用税款及纵容其腐败的企业实体的调查。他同时向 Reitz 发出自己的记录保全要求，请对方保全与起草和发布这封函有关的记录与通讯，包括与白宫及司法部高层官员的往来，并称自己的调查是适当的、属于宪法职责的一部分。需要说明的是，要求保全记录的函件本身不是起诉，Blumenthal 目前没有被控任何罪名。
U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz Tells Sen. Blumenthal to Preserve Ballroom Donor Probe Records, Warning of Legal Consequences
In Washington, Aaron Reitz, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, wrote to Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, on November 11 demanding that he preserve all documents, communications and electronic records related to his inquiry into donors to the White House ballroom, confirm compliance by November 18, and warning of significant legal consequences if he does not.
In the letter, Reitz said Blumenthal's series of investigative letters to ballroom donors showed an intent to deprive citizens of their core constitutional rights, citing the federal conspiracy-against-rights and deprivation-of-rights-under-color-of-law statutes (18 U.S.C. 241 and 242). He wrote that Blumenthal had threatened citizens for associating themselves with the president and other public officials, calling it extraordinary for an elected official to intimidate citizens for engaging in philanthropic practices, and said Americans are entitled to freely associate without elected officials terrorizing them with aggressive, harassing government action. Reitz also posted the letter on social media, saying the inquiry had turned Congress into a weapon against Americans.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter publicly backed Reitz, writing that the First Amendment expressly prohibits Congress from infringing the speech and association rights of Americans and that the Justice Department will defend against threats to those rights. A Justice Department spokesperson said the department routinely requests that records be preserved when public officials take such extreme actions, and alleged that Blumenthal's letters were an attempt to suppress donors' First Amendment activities, including their philanthropic practices.
Blumenthal is the top Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and is set to become its chairman when the new Congress convenes in January. He has led an inquiry into waste, fraud and abuse associated with the White House ballroom and other projects in the nation's capital, and on October 20 and November 5 sent letters to dozens of known donors, including Amazon, Apple, BlackRock, Google, Lockheed Martin, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Palantir, asking them to voluntarily hand over records related to their gifts and saying that failure to produce them by January 4, 2027 would leave the subcommittee to consider subpoenas once Democrats hold the gavel.
The ballroom is being built with private donations put at roughly $330 million to $400 million. The planned 90,000-square-foot hall rises on the site of the demolished East Wing and is due to be completed by September 2028. President Trump has said he would release the donors' names but has made only a partial list public. In August, a divided Supreme Court allowed construction to continue, rejecting a challenge from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Blumenthal responded on the evening of November 11 that he will not be intimidated and vowed to vigorously pursue investigations into the administration's misuse of taxpayer dollars and any corporate entity that has enabled it. He sent Reitz a preservation request of his own, asking him to retain records and correspondence related to the decision to prepare and post the letter, including communications with the White House and senior Justice Department officials, and described his inquiry as appropriate and part of his constitutional responsibilities. A demand to preserve records is not itself a prosecution, and Blumenthal has not been charged with any offense.
Related: White House letter warns Democrats that investigations of the Trump administration could be a crime
来源：美国司法部
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图片来源：图：美国司法部本部大楼。编辑部联邦固定图库。 / Image: U.S. Department of Justice headquarters. GSM federal asset library.
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