The Democrats said in a letter that their request was part of their oversight efforts and “measures necessary to protect the lawful transfer of power.”

They pointed to Trump’s attorney general nominee, Pam Bondi, saying she would “weaponize” the DOJ against special counsel Jack Smith and his team, which had led the two unsuccessful criminal prosecutions against Trump. The Democrats also highlighted Bondi’s viral comments last year that “prosecutors will be prosecuted, the bad ones.”

“In light of these threats, it is critical that the Department take immediate preservation steps related to these investigations and prosecutions,” the Democrats wrote.

While the DOJ is already bound by federal law to properly preserve all of its case files and department records, the letter sheds light on concerns that committee ranking member Dick Durbin (D-IL) and his Democratic colleagues have about Bondi ahead of her confirmation hearing, which is scheduled for this week.

Bondi has been warmly welcomed by Senate Republicans during meetings on Capitol Hill, but Durbin remains dissatisfied with her nomination and has signaled her hearing will be contentious. In addition to the letter to Garland, Durbin described Bondi’s “troubling history of unflinching loyalty to the president-elect” as he previewed her hearing on the Senate floor on Monday.

The committee Democrats also warned in their letter that any DOJ official who hides or tampers with government records would be violating federal law.

“We urge you to ensure that Department employees do not delete or destroy any official government records, including ‘information created, manipulated, communicated, or stored’ electronically,” they wrote. “As you know, any employee who conceals, destroys, or attempts to conceal or destroy a federal record may be subject to fine and imprisonment.”

The letter to Garland also comes as the attorney general prepares to depart the department on frosty terms with not just Republicans but also some Democrats, who have expressed frustration at his failure to secure convictions against Trump as well as the DOJ’s decision to prosecute President Joe Biden’s son Hunter.

A DOJ spokesman declined to comment. A Trump transition spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.