>>2300953
>Congress Has a Way of Making Witnesses Speak: Its Own Jail
>DEC. 4, 2007
>If the Justice Department refuses to enforce the subpoenas, as seems likely, Congress will have to decide whether to do so. Washington lawyers are dusting off an old but apparently sturdy doctrine called ((( “inherent contempt”))) that gives Congress the power to bring the recalcitrant witnesses in — by force, if necessary.
>This is where inherent contempt comes in. From the Republic’s earliest days, Congress has had the right to hold recalcitrant witnesses in contempt — and even imprison them — all by itself. In 1795, shortly after the Constitution was ratified, the House ordered its (((sergeant at arms))) to arrest and detain two men accused of trying to bribe members of Congress. The House held a trial and convicted one of them.