Ernest Huber The House of Representatives has the inherent power - TopicsExpress



          

Ernest Huber The House of Representatives has the inherent power to arrest, jail, try, and punish witnesses whenever necessary to accomplish its Constitutional duties, e.g., investigating Benghazi, the IRS, and Fast and Furious. Congress’s inherent contempt power is not specifically granted by the Constitution, but is considered necessary to investigate and legislate effectively. The validity of the inherent contempt power was upheld in the early Supreme Court decision in Anderson v. Dunn and reiterated in McGrain v. Daugherty. Under the inherent contempt power the individual is brought before the House or Senate by the Sergeant-at-Arms, tried at the bar of the body, and can be imprisoned in the Capitol jail. The purpose of the imprisonment or other sanction may be either punitive or coercive. Thus, the witness can be imprisoned for a specified period of time as punishment, or for an indefinite period (but not, at least by the House, beyond the end of a session of the Congress) until he agrees to comply. Congressional Research Service, Congresss Contempt Power and the Enforcement of Congressional Subpoenas: Law, History, Practice, and Procedure May 8, 2012, pdf, page 11 of 74 pages
Posted on: Fri, 09 May 2014 23:41:12 +0000

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