WASHINGTON — A federal prosecutor in Texas has ordered U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., to preserve all records from his investigation into donors funding President Donald Trump's White House ballroom, accusing the Connecticut senator of using congressional oversight to target Trump supporters.

U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz of the Southern District of Texas posted the letter, dated Nov. 11, on social media Wednesday. It told Blumenthal to preserve documents, communications and electronically stored information related to the inquiry, WTNH News 8 reported.

Reitz warned that failing to preserve the records could carry "significant legal consequences," according to The Hill. He gave Blumenthal until 6 p.m. Nov. 18 to confirm he had taken steps to preserve the materials, UPI reported.

The letter called Blumenthal's actions an "abuse of power," WTNH reported. Reitz also argued the probe threatened donors' constitutional right to free association, writing that it is "extraordinary for an elected official to intimidate citizens" for philanthropy, according to UPI.

The letter did not announce any charges or allege that Blumenthal had committed a crime.

Blumenthal, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, fired back the same day in a letter to Reitz, saying the prosecutor's letter "purports to initiate an investigation into me for conducting a congressional inquiry."

"Your implied threat of an investigation is baseless," Blumenthal wrote. He called the letter the latest in a series of "unlawful actions" by the Trump administration aimed at intimidating members of Congress for constitutionally protected activity.

"As incoming Chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, I will not be intimidated," he wrote, vowing to pursue investigations into the administration's use of taxpayer money and any companies that enabled what he called its "boundless corruption."

Blumenthal wrote that the public deserves to know whether lawsuits were dismissed, contracts awarded or regulations left unenforced in exchange for companies' donations to what he called the president's "vanity projects."

He then turned Reitz's demand around, directing the U.S. attorney to preserve all records and correspondence related to the decision to draft and post his letter, including communications with the White House or senior Justice Department officials. Blumenthal asked Reitz to confirm by 6 p.m. Thursday that he had done so.

In a separate statement to WTNH, Blumenthal accused the administration of "weaponizing the Department of Justice" against Congress.

Last month, Blumenthal sent letters to more than a dozen previously undisclosed ballroom donors whose identities were revealed in reporting by The Washington Post, according to The Hill. His office said the letters were part of an investigation into possible waste, fraud and abuse tied to the ballroom and other Trump construction projects in Washington.

"The American people are entitled to all the relevant facts about who is funding the most substantial construction project at the White House in recent history," Blumenthal wrote in one of the letters, UPI reported.

Trump announced the ballroom in July 2025, and it has faced legal challenges since construction began later that year, according to UPI. The White House has said $300 million for the project came from 37 donors, including billionaires and tech companies, WTNH reported.