# A Conservative Group Subpoenaed by Jack Smith Warns Democratic House Probes Could Bankrupt Young Trump Officials

Rachel Bovard of the Conservative Partnership Institute says her group spent millions complying with Smith's subpoenas and fears a Democratic House would do the same to junior staff. Legal experts quoted by Fox disagree on how far Congress can go.

- Section: [Politics](https://rightnewsrightnow.com/politics/)
- Published: 2026-10-30
- By: RightNewsRightNow Staff
- Canonical page: https://rightnewsrightnow.com/articles/conservative-partnership-institute-bovard-democrat-probes-torture-young-trump-officials-legal-bills-slotkin-deterrence-fox-news/

A conservative think tank leader says Democratic investigations could ruin young professionals with legal bills, even if nobody is ever charged, Fox News reports.

The warning. Rachel Bovard, vice president of programs at the Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI), told Fox News Digital that Jack Smith's election investigation left her group on the hook for millions of dollars in fees to comply with subpoenas. "Jack Smith was a test run in how to do this," she said. "His goal was to map the right, and he did it. And all of that information is still on file at the FBI and the Justice Department." She said the subpoenas also reached details such as CPI's health coverage and benefits, which she called irrelevant. CPI was targeted by the Justice Department, not by Congress, and she said it was "never credibly accused of any crime."

The trigger. Bovard pointed to Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., who said at a University of Chicago event this month that she wants Democrats to send a "deterrence message" to any young person thinking of working in the Trump administration. Slotkin said she wants to "not just focus on the president, but on the people who enabled him." Bovard said she read that as a call to use the investigative process to "torture" young professionals. Fox says it asked Slotkin's office for comment and got no response before publication. Our earlier story on the Slotkin dispute is on the site.

The legal view. Abhishek Kambli, a former federal prosecutor now at Holtzman Vogel, said congressional subpoenas must serve a legislative purpose, and that members' public talk of "accountability" could be used by anyone fighting a subpoena. He also warned that "the investigative process itself can be the punishment" for people who cannot pay for lawyers. Michael Morley, a Florida State law professor, called Slotkin's remarks bad optics and not in keeping with norms, but said Congress's investigative power is broad and does not necessarily raise a constitutional problem. Hans von Spakovsky of Advancing American Freedom noted that Congress can hold someone in contempt but the Justice Department decides whether to prosecute, citing the Obama-era decision not to prosecute Eric Holder over Fast and Furious.

Pardons. Fox notes that Trump told Time he would issue preemptive pardons to members of his administration before leaving office. Bovard said that outcome is "terrible" but that Trump may have no choice if Slotkin's approach is put to the test.

Note for readers: Bovard leads an organization that was itself subpoenaed, and her predictions about what a Democratic Congress would do are her own. Fox does not report any subpoena of a young Trump official.

## Source

Original reporting: [Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dem-probes-torture-young-trump-officials-crushing-legal-bills-subpoenaed-conservative-warns)