What happens if holder contempt

Such a case was expected to take years to complete. A letter Friday from the Justice Department to House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, who led the investigation that brought the contempt charge against Holder, explained that "across administrations of both political parties, the longstanding position of the Department of Justice has been and remains that we will not prosecute" in such a circumstance. Mica calls for Holder resignation.

More Videos Mica calls for Holder resignation House holds Holder in contempt Dems decry contempt vote's 'skunktivity' White House spokesman Jay Carney said the same thing Friday, saying "it is an established principle, dating back to the administration of President Ronald Reagan, that the Justice Department does not pursue prosecution in a contempt case when the president has asserted executive privilege.

Other Cabinet-level or senior executive branch officials cited for contempt in recent history include Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Commerce Secretary Rogers C. Califano Jr. Quinn in ; and Attorney General Janet Reno in After members of the House Judiciary Committee concluded their markup discussion over the resolution to hold Barr in contempt Wednesday, the panel voted on the resolution.

The resolution now could go to a vote in the full House. Only a simple majority is needed to advance the contempt resolution, and only one chamber needs to approve the measure for a person to be prosecuted for contempt. With a criminal contempt citation, the House would refer the citation to the U.

Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, which can seek an indictment from a grand jury. All federal prosecutors, including all plus U.

With a civil contempt citation, Congress would basically sue Barr in district court. Now that the Judiciary Committee has approved the contempt resolution, the full House could vote on the measure, with the timing of that up to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Speaking at a Washington Post event Wednesday, Pelosi said that the attorney general "should be held in contempt," something she had declined to weigh in on as recently as Tuesday.

Although a criminal contempt citation could be referred to the U. There is no similar statute that applies in the House, but the federal district court in Washington, D. Inherent contempt was the mode employed by Congress to directly enforce contempt rulings under its own constitutional authority until criminal and civil contempt statutes were passed, and it remained in use into the twentieth century. Under inherent contempt proceedings, the House or Senate has its Sergeant-At-Arms, or deputy, take a person into custody for proceedings to be held in Congress.

Although these powers are not directly stated in the Constitution, the Supreme Court has ruled on multiple occasions that they are implicit as an essential legislative power held by Congress. Daugherty , a Supreme Court decision about Mally S. Daugherty, the brother of former Attorney General Harry Daugherty. A select Senate committee issued a subpoena for Daugherty to testify and to also surrender records from an Ohio bank. When Daugherty refused to comply after a second subpoena, the Senate passed a resolution issuing a warrant and authorizing a Senate deputy to take Daugherty into custody.

Around zilch. And even then, the administration has sent the documents down the memory hole, meaning Holder is immune from prosecution.

There's also a history perhaps unsuspectingly of not following through with prosecution when administration officials are held in contempt. The last time an administration official was prosecuted for contempt, EPA official Rita Lavelle, was in The other option, and more likely, is that House Republicans will move forward on civil charges. If House Republicans pursue this option, some documents may be turned over, but this would likely be long after public interest has waned.

The civil case against Miers and Bolten was resolved in , after Bush had gone into retirement, and the public -- and political -- notice given was minor. Obama's assertion of executive privilege also makes it slim investigators will get what they want, too. This Congress will be out of office and Obama may be out of office.