By Tessa Berenson and Lily Rothman
So what happens if a witness refuses to cooperate?
Congress can hold people in contempt (click here) if they obstruct committee proceedings by refusing to testify or provide documents, or for bribing or libeling a member. In 1821, the Supreme Court ruled that Congress needs the power to hold someone in contempt or else it would be “exposed to every indignity and interruption that rudeness, caprice, or even conspiracy, may meditate against it.”
The full House or Senate can approve a contempt citation by a majority vote, and then must hand the matter to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, “whose duty it shall be to bring the matter before the grand jury for its action,” according to the law....
There are no jail cells in the US Capitol, but, there are some nearby that the Capitol Police can utilize when lawless people need to think it over. I think there are remedies such as fines that can be leveraged to those that do not appreciate their democracy.The Trump Administration is nothing, but, lawless. It is time Congress get real about these criminals.
