WASHINGTON (AP) – Democrats have a lot of legal options, as well as the backing of the Constitution, as they push back on President Donald Trump’s…
WASHINGTON (AP) – Democrats have a lot of legal options, as well as the backing of the Constitution, as they push back on President Donald Trump’s pledge to fight “all of the subpoenas.”
But not all of the options are easy, or politically feasible.
Democratic leaders say they will have to fight on multiple fronts to obtain documents and witness interviews as the Trump administration stonewalls them. The White House is attempting to block witness interviews as well as efforts to obtain Trump’s tax returns and financial records, among other congressional requests.
“We will cross that bridge when we come to it,” said House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, who is trying to negotiate documents and witness interviews. “But I promise you we will cross it.”
A look at Democrats’ options:
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CRIMINAL CONTEMPT REFERRAL
A criminal referral is the most common way to hold officials in contempt, and is usually the first recourse for congressional committees when a witness defies a subpoena or refuses to provide documents. But it has been largely ineffective and difficult to enforce in recent years.
A person can be held in contempt of Congress by a vote of the full House. The contempt resolution is then referred to the U. S. attorney for the District of Columbia, a Justice Department official who is likely to defend the administration’s interests. The U. S. attorney can decline to prosecute, and the contempt resolution reaches a dead end.
The current U.
