In Contempt Of Congress
It has just come to my attention that the white house has refused to comply with the subpoena sent by the Congress regarding Solyndra. My understanding of the Constitution and of Anderson v. Dunn,Wilkinson v. United States, and Eastland v. United States Servicemen's Fund, says that the Congress is now empowered to arrest the offenders and 'haul' them in to answer for themselves.
With that said, a set of questions to which I do not know the answer:
1) Can a sitting President be 'arrested' for contempt of Congress under these circumstances?
2) What about his entire administration? Aren't those responsible for this response letter now in direct, notorious contempt of this 112th Congress?
3) The President, to my knowledge, has not claimed executive privilege, doesn't this make him vulnerable on this issue?
4) Doesn't this technically trigger a Constitutional crisis? I am thinking specifically of the lack of precedence related to the executive branch giving Congress the finger.
Alright Ricochet, am I witnessing the beginnings of a major crisis?
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Oct '11
Re: In Contempt Of Congress
It's unlikely Congress would use the sergeant-at-arms, so the U.S. Attorney would have to choose to prosecute, which he wouldn't. The president and his cabinet can claim executive privilege. This is a qualified privilege, and as our courts love to do, they'll weigh the need for the privilege with the public interest (see U.S. v. Nixon), if it ever got to that point. While we make a big deal out of this, the government spending money on a failed venture isn't exactly extreme. In other words, they can hold them in contempt, but it won't go anywhere. I would hate to ruin a perfectly good football Saturday by suggesting legal reading, but here's a nice law review article talking about the matter.
That's a good thing. I would hate to give congress coercive power over the executive. The proper proceeding is either through impeachment or voting him out of office. The former (fortunately) won't happen, so we'll have to just nail him in the general election. Hiding info is something the public can easily understand as sleazy; no need to waste congress' time on it.
Oct '11
Re: In Contempt Of Congress
Ah, I didn't see that there's no executive privilege involved. It would still come down to executive branch discretion (if went the statutory route), but as was pointed out, it looks like the White House is complying.
Re: In Contempt Of Congress
I think this will work out in Congress's favor, because the White House doesn't have a strong claim of executive privilege here. First off, executive privilege would only apply to discussions within the White House, or those between the President and his top advisors. Emails sent between the White House and people in the agencies or totally outside the executive privilege would have only the weakest of claims. Second, executive privilege is at its strongest when involving military, diplomatic, national security, and law enforcement matters, and at its weakest when administering a simple domestic spending program. The White House could risk having its officials being held in contempt of Congress, and then ultimately prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney, but ultimately because its claim of privilege is so weak, it will turn over the documents.
Jul '11
Re: In Contempt Of Congress
This is a non issue. It just part of the process of our three branch, check and balance, system of government.
Jul '10
Re: In Contempt Of Congress
When Congress is of one mind, any federal official, including the President, can be removed from office in a blink. This deadlocked Congress only threatens the executive branch if and when Harry Reid and his bunch suddenly develop an unlikely sense of responsibility. (Maybe the next tax increase will turn the trick.)
Dec '10
Re: In Contempt Of Congress
I agree with Richard Epstein that we must go one step at a time but I don't think that this isn't going someplace. People are enraged about the half billion dollar fraud. More deeply people want to know just where the Trillion dollars of Tarp money went. Congress should stay on top of this and dog this one down. Hiding behind phoney environmentalism won't do it for the Obama crowd this time. People have had it with this kind of arrogant nonsense.