The fight over who gets to investigate whom in the next Congress has started early. White House counsel Will Scharf sent a three-page letter to Rep. Robert Garcia of California warning that the investigations Democrats are planning could cross into what he called blatant criminality. Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, is expected to take the gavel in January when his party controls the chamber.

The letter is dated Monday and became public Wednesday. In it Scharf says the administration is keeping watch on what he describes as abusive threats from Democratic lawmakers. He argues that public talk of sweeping subpoenas shows the coming probes are meant to harass officials rather than serve a real legislative goal.

Scharf also wrote that pressure meant to scare people out of government service could be a crime. He added that issuing subpoenas to strip citizens of their constitutional rights may call for an investigation of its own, a pointed suggestion that the executive branch could turn its legal tools on lawmakers.

Garcia says Congress needs no permission

Garcia brushed the warning aside within hours. He said the letter suggests the White House has something to hide. He said Congress gets its power from Article I of the Constitution and has wide room to investigate as part of its job writing laws.

He said voters sent Democrats to Washington to root out corruption and that his committee will not be scared off by threats from the Justice Department or the president's lawyers. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, in line to become speaker, said the new majority will act as a check on the executive branch. If the White House does not like that, he said, it should read the Constitution.

A warning with little legal bite

Legal experts said the letter reads more like an opening move in a public argument than a real legal threat. Courts have long held that congressional probes need a legitimate legislative purpose but have rarely blocked one. The Constitution's speech or debate clause also shields members of Congress from prosecution over their official work, which includes voting to issue a subpoena.

Democrats won control of both chambers in last week's midterms. They have signaled plans to examine Cabinet officials and the war with Iran among other matters once they take power. Wednesday's exchange suggests the White House intends to fight those efforts at every step.