Democrats will have ‘field day’ with Trump inquiries if they win House, legal experts say | US midterm elections 2026

Donald Trump’s presidency is dogged by investigations involving political and personal abuses of power and accusations of corruption by a key House Democrat and former prosecutors; legal experts predict they will be subject to intense scrutiny if Democrats win the House majority in the midterm elections.

Legal critics are calling the scandals “targeting the wealthy” as they pursue the president for investigations that would have a “field day” investigating whether Democrats have won the House majority. Critics note, for example, that Trump has undermined the rule of law by weaponizing the Department of Justice (DoJ) to take revenge on political enemies and protect himself from federal investigations, and that Trump has also moved to profit from his presidency in radical ways with his lucrative new cryptocurrency ventures.

Scandals plaguing Trump include a proposed $1.8 billion “anti-proliferation” slush fund to aid “Maga” allies accused of crimes and deter IRS investigations into Trump’s taxes, the arming of the Justice Department to prosecute Trump’s enemies and aid his friends, the escalating private and public costs of his prized White House. ball-roomand his support of cryptocurrency policies, which coincides with Trump making a whopping $1.4 billion from crypto startups in 2025.

In the House, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the judiciary committee, has led investigations of Democrats by the panel and is expected to take the top job and lead key investigations if Democrats take back the House.

In Raskin’s eyes, the risks to the rule of law and democracy are great.

“The political and financial corruption driving Trump’s presidency is a civil emergency,” Raskin said in a statement. “Congress has the responsibility to confront all these corruption head on, expose them, and take all necessary steps to crush them as quickly as possible.

“Democrats may not have their hands on the gavel yet, but we’re already conducting a wide-ranging investigation using every tool at our disposal. That work includes examining and challenging the $1.8 billion convicted felon fund and the Trump superpardons.” noted It provides them with full and permanent immunity from all tax and legal matters.

In his statement, Raskin also touched on investigations into “the Justice Department’s weaponization against select enemies in the nonprofit world; the extensive cover-up of Epstein’s human trafficking; widespread violations of the Foreign Emoluments Clause and legal conflicts of interest by the president, Jared Kushner, and other senior officials; and the theft and squandering of public resources by Trump and his corrupt cabinet.”

Looking ahead, Raskin predicted more aggressive moves after November if Democrats take the House of Representatives. “Under the control of the House, we can hold hearings, hold depositions, use subpoenas to compel the appearance of witnesses and the production of documents if necessary, and pass bills that root out corruption to ensure that the government serves the needs of the people.”

Some former prosecutors and senior investigators have also begun strategizing about plans to help House Democrats with investigations if the GOP loses its majority, according to a legal source familiar with informal and initial conversations.

Legal critics and academics say Trump’s scandals and corruption rival and could surpass those of other presidents, and some Senate Republicans like Thom Tillis of North Carolina say criticized Trump quickly surpassed his $1.8 billion slush fund.

Ty Cobb, a former federal prosecutor and veteran D.C. attorney who served as special counsel in the White House during Trump’s first term, said “Trump’s corruption is one of a kind” and dwarfs that of other presidents.

“It’s like comparing Fort Knox to a child’s piggy bank,” Cobb said.

Cobb also touched on Trump’s various abuses of power, which he predicted would “all be subject to congressional scrutiny if the GOP loses the House majority.” He specifically focused on Trump’s $1.8 billion fund as exploitative.

“There is no way to discuss the slush fund as anything other than criminal conduct,” he said, noting that it faced strong opposition from some GOP senators who were “livid about it.”

Cobb calls for House investigation into Trump’s recent investigations reported $220 million to $750 million in stock trades that included shares of Nvidia and many other major government contractors. He said investigations should look at: Qatar 400 million dollars The plane given to Trump and the fee paid for it plus 500 million dollar investment from UAE Trump’s World Liberty Financial cryptocurrency initiative and the sensitive chips they were given in return.”

Trump and the White House have firmly rejected accusations that his policies and business dealings with his sons in crypto, hotels and other areas constitute any conflict of interest, and have emphasized that their decisions are made with America’s interests first.

Asked by journalists about his cryptocurrency earnings last year and his total income reaching $ 2 billion in 2025, Trump said: “I’m making a profit because the stock market is rising… Everyone is making a profit.”

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt told NPR last fall that “neither the president nor his family have ever had, nor will they have, a conflict of interest.”

Legal analysts and former prosecutors predict that Trump will continue his pattern of responding harshly to investigations into his conduct, and that Democrats should be careful in choosing their targets for investigation.

While Trump often lashes out at his critics and calls allegations of corruption against him a “witch hunt,” he is fully aware that losing his House majority would jeopardize his future.

At a House Republican meeting in January, Trump acknowledged that the risks to his presidency were high if the GOP lost the House.

“You’ve got to win the midterms, because if we don’t win the midterms, it’s just…well, they’re going to find a reason to impeach me,” Trump told lawmakers.

Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney for eastern Michigan who now teaches law at the University of Michigan, cited numerous examples of Trump scandals that stand up to further scrutiny.

“Trump’s acceptance of plane-like salaries from Qatar, his solicitation of donations from government contractors for the ballroom, and the apparent cottage industry that has developed around his pardon authority are all worth investigating because they point to a president whose loyalty to the American people has been compromised,” McQuade said.

“Another area that Congress should investigate is the Trump administration’s blatant misuse of the justice department to attack enemies such as the former FBI director. [James] Comey, New York AG Letitia James, former Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell” and others. “The Constitution requires the president to see to it that the laws are faithfully executed. “Weaponizing the legal system for political gain is a betrayal of that duty.”

Similarly, former Justice Department inspector general Michael Bromwich said: “The Trump administration, from day one, has engaged in behavior unparalleled by any previous administration — from firing large numbers of government employees without any analysis of the costs to selling pardons to serious criminals — and it is worthy of investigation and investigation by congressional oversight committees.”

Bromwich continued: “One of the challenges will be how to allocate resources to the multitude of issues worthy of investigation. In the justice department alone, there are literally so many allegations of abuse, waste, fraud, and abuse that both Congress and the Justice Department (inspector general) have shown no interest in investigating.”

Former GOP Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania also thinks Democrats would move quickly to hold Trump accountable if they were in the majority. Dent said he suspects “Democrats will take on a range of issues if they win the House,” citing the weaponization of the Justice Department to indict Trump’s enemies, Trump’s “friendly” business dealings and investigations into donors who donated money to fund the ballroom.

Dent emphasized that “the judiciary committee will have a field day with lawsuits filed by the Justice Department of Trump’s enemies.”

Historically, the Trump administration’s actions “included large-scale attacks on the Constitution and the rule of law,” said Harvard government professor Steven Levitsky, co-author of How Democracies Die. “When a leader abuses his power, tries to steal an election, and sells himself out to foreign governments, he must be investigated.”

Still, Levitsky added that he expects there to be some divisions among Democrats over how aggressively they investigate Trump.

“Most senior Democrats are not trained for tough or authoritarian policies,” he said.

Similarly, former Federal Election Commission general counsel Larry Noble said Trump’s second term produced a surge in corruption: “The breadth and depth of corruption that has marked Trump’s second term appears unrivaled in our history. He appears to combine the mentality of a petty crime boss looking to use his office to make as much money as possible with the ambition of a would-be autocrat seeking to undermine the foundations of our democracy.”

Noble warned: “If Democrats take the House, they will have some investigative tools. However, I have little doubt that Trump will use the real and imagined powers of his office, as well as the efforts of those in Congress and the courts that seem more than willing to do his bidding, to fight against him. I have no doubt that self-preservation far surpasses preserving our democracy as his guiding principle.”

Bromwich also warned: “One of the key questions is whether this administration will shatter yet another norm and refuse to submit to congressional oversight.”