Congress’s Contempt Power: Law, History, Practice, and Procedure Page: 2 of 70
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Congress's Contempt Power: Law, History, Practice,
and Procedure
Summary
Congress's contempt power is the means by which Congress responds to certain
acts that in its view obstruct the legislative process. Contempt may be used either to
coerce compliance (inherent contempt), punish the contemnor (criminal contempt),
and/or to remove the obstruction (civil contempt). Although arguably any action that
directly obstructs the effort of Congress to exercise its constitutional powers may
constitute a contempt, in the last seventy years the contempt power (primarily
through the criminal contempt process) has generally been employed only in
instances of refusals of witnesses to appear before committees, to respond to
questions, or to produce documents.
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 each of the
three different types of contempt proceedings. In addition, the report discusses
limitations both nonconstitutional and constitutionally based on the power. Finally,
the report discusses the recent investigation by the House Judiciary Committee that
has resulted in votes for criminal contempt of Congress and the filing of a civil
lawsuit to enforce congressional subpoenas.
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Rosenberg, Morton & Tatelman, Todd B. Congress’s Contempt Power: Law, History, Practice, and Procedure, report, April 15, 2008; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc807787/m1/2/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.