The White House has put the incoming, Democrat-controlled House Oversight Committee on notice that purported planned probes could cross the line from investigations into criminal behavior.

The warning came in a letter Monday from White House counsel Will Scharf to incoming committee Chairman Rep. Robert Garcia, California, as reported Wednesday by Punchbowl News. 

Among the concerns were possibly abusing subpoena power, a incoming House Democrat saying she wanted to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth "squirm" and Garcia saying "lawyer up" after his party took control of Congress in the Nov. 3 elections. 

"Beyond being inconsistent with the clear, well-recognized constitutional limitations on your investigative functions, threats to executive branch officials designed to deter them from public service, or process designed merely to abuse or instill fear in the recipient may cross the line into blatant criminality," the letter also reads. "And issuing unlawful subpoenas with the intention of depriving citizens of their constitutional rights and privileges may warrant further investigation."