WASHINGTON – At every investigative avenue pursued by congressional Democrats is the Trump administration ready for a fight. A request for the president’s tax returns? A letter…
WASHINGTON – At every investigative avenue pursued by congressional Democrats is the Trump administration ready for a fight.
A request for the president’s tax returns? A letter from his attorneys demanding they remain secret. Testimony from key current or former aides? The White House is threatening to invoke executive privilege. Financial documents related to the president’s assets? Two separate lawsuits.
But this week, the fight escalated as congressional Democrats said they could be forced to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress if he did not cooperate with a subpoena for an unredacted copy of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the Trump campaign and Russian interference in the 2016 election. The Justice Department missed Wednesday’s deadline to hand over the subpoenaed report, writing to Nadler that the committee had not « articulated any legislative purpose for its request. »
Barr also refused on Wednesday to testify before the House Judiciary Committee about special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation because of a dispute about how he would be questioned.
Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said « the next step is seeking a contempt citation against the attorney general, » adding that the committee could vote within days on whether to hold Barr in contempt for not turning over the unredacted report and underlying evidence.
On Friday, Nadler made another offer to Barr, again requesting the unredacted Mueller report and underlying evidence. He gave Barr a Monday deadline and said if the Justice Department again defied the subpoena, the committee would be forced to « move to contempt proceedings and seek further legal recourse. »
But what is contempt of Congress, how does it work and could it actually lead to charges against Barr or other Trump officials who defy requests from Capitol Hill?
While Congress is given powers to investigate and subpoena individuals and entities, it typically does not just arrest people for not cooperating.
