Congress's Contempt Power and the Enforcement of Congressional Subpoenas: Law, History, Practice, and Procedure

Garvey, Todd ; Dolan, Alissa M.

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.

关键词: Law;    Due process of law;    Political questions and judicial power;    Public law;   

RP-ID  :  RL34097
RP-ID  :  RL34097_2014May08

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

This report examines the source of the contempt power, reviews the historical development of the early case law, outlines the statutory and common law basis for Congress's contempt power, and analyzes the procedures associated with inherent contempt, criminal contempt, and the civil enforcement of subpoenas. It also includes a detailed discussion of two recent information access disputes that led to the approval of contempt citations in the House against then-White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers, as well as Attorney General Eric Holder. Finally, the report discusses both non-constitutional and constitutionally-based limitations on the contempt power.