Members of the U.S. Congress learned only through press reports that President Donald Trump’s administration had tried - and failed - to have them charged and arrested, and some said on Wednesday they were considering legal action in response.

“This is not a good news story,” Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, a former astronaut and Navy veteran, told a news conference. “This is a story about how Donald Trump and his cronies are trying to break our system in order to silence anyone who lawfully speaks out against them.”