Congress's Contempt Power: Law, History, Practice, and Procedure
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No. 19-5331 in the UNITED STATES COURT of APPEALS for the DISTRICT of COLUMBIA C
USCA Case #19-5331 Document #1871493 Filed: 11/16/2020 Page 1 of 87 [ORAL ARGUMENT SCHEDULED FOR FEBRUARY 23, 2021] No. 19-5331 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. DONALD F. MCGAHN, II, Defendant-Appellant. On Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia EN BANC BRIEF FOR APPELLANT JEFFREY BOSSERT CLARK Acting Assistant Attorney General SOPAN JOSHI Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General MARK R. FREEMAN MICHAEL S. RAAB COURTNEY L. DIXON DENNIS FAN Attorneys, Appellate Staff Civil Division, Room 7243 U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20530 (202) 353-8189 USCA Case #19-5331 Document #1871493 Filed: 11/16/2020 Page 2 of 87 CERTIFICATE AS TO PARTIES, RULINGS, AND RELATED CASES Pursuant to D.C. Circuit Rule 28(a)(1), the undersigned counsel certifies: A. Parties and Amici The defendant-appellant is Donald F. McGahn, II. The plaintiff-appellee is the Committee on the Judiciary of the United States House of Representatives. Amici curiae in this Court are: Republican legal experts, former government officials, and former members of Congress (Steve Bartlett, Jack Buechner, Tom Coleman, George Conway III, Mickey Edwards, Stuart Gerson, Gordon Humphrey, Bob Inglis, James Kolbe, Steven Kuykendall, Jim Leach, Mike Parker, Thomas Petri, Trevor Potter, Reid Ribble, Jonathan Rose, Paul Rosenzweig, Peter Smith, J.W. Verret, Dick Zimmer); James Murray; former members of Congress and former Executive Branch officials (Thomas Andrews, William Baer, Brian Baird, Michael Barnes, John Barrow, Douglas Bereuter, Howard Berman, Rick Boucher, Barbara Boxer, Bruce Braley, Carol Mosley Braun, Roland Burria, Lois Cappa, Jean Carnahan, Robert Carr, Rod Chandler, Linda Chavez, Bill Cohen, James Cole, Jerry Costello, Mark S. -
Summons in a Civil Action UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT for the ______District of ______
AO 440 (Rev. 06/12) Summons in a Civil Action UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT for the __________ District of __________ ) ) ) ) Plaintiff(s) ) ) v. Civil Action No. ) ) ) ) ) Defendant(s) ) SUMMONS IN A CIVIL ACTION To: (Defendant’s name and address) A lawsuit has been filed against you. Within 21 days after service of this summons on you (not counting the day you received it) — or 60 days if you are the United States or a United States agency, or an officer or employee of the United States described in Fed. R. Civ. P. 12 (a)(2) or (3) — you must serve on the plaintiff an answer to the attached complaint or a motion under Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The answer or motion must be served on the plaintiff or plaintiff’s attorney, whose name and address are: If you fail to respond, judgment by default will be entered against you for the relief demanded in the complaint. You also must file your answer or motion with the court. CLERK OF COURT Date: Signature of Clerk or Deputy Clerk AO 440 (Rev. 06/12) Summons in a Civil Action (Page 2) Civil Action No. PROOF OF SERVICE (This section should not be filed with the court unless required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 4 (l)) This summons for (name of individual and title, if any) was received by me on (date) . ’ I personally served the summons on the individual at (place) on (date) ; or ’ I left the summons at the individual’s residence or usual place of abode with (name) , a person of suitable age and discretion who resides there, on (date) , and mailed a copy to the individual’s last known address; or ’ I served the summons on (name of individual) , who is designated by law to accept service of process on behalf of (name of organization) on (date) ; or ’ I returned the summons unexecuted because ; or ’ Other (specify): . -
Congressional Record—Senate S1929
March 22, 2017 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S1929 claims are simply unfounded scare- contempt or obloquy, or will represent a (4)(a) The committee may poll— mongering. If this resolution is en- clearly unwarranted invasion of the privacy (i) internal committee matters including acted, it will repeal only a specific of an individual; those concerning the committee’s staff, (d) will disclose the identity of any in- records, and budget; rulemaking at the FCC that has yet to former or law enforcement agent or will dis- (ii) steps in an investigation, including be implemented. What we are talking close any information relating to the inves- issuance of subpoenas, applications for im- about here hasn’t even been imple- tigation or prosecution of a criminal offense munity orders, and requests for documents mented yet. It will not touch the FCC’s that is required to be kept secret in the in- from agencies; and underlying statutory authority. In- terests of effective law enforcement; or (iii) other committee business that the deed, the FCC will still be obligated to (e) will disclose information relating to the committee has designated for polling at a trade secrets or financial or commercial in- meeting, except that the committee may not police the privacy practices of formation pertaining specifically to a given broadband providers, as provided for in vote by poll on reporting to the Senate any person if— measure, matter, or recommendation, and the Communications Act. The new (i) an act of Congress requires the informa- may not vote by poll on closing a meeting or chairman of the FCC confirmed this tion to be kept confidential by Government hearing to the public. -
Congressional Oversight Manual
Congressional Oversight Manual Frederick M. Kaiser Specialist in American National Government Walter J. Oleszek Senior Specialist in American National Government Todd B. Tatelman Legislative Attorney June 10, 2011 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov RL30240 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Congressional Oversight Manual Summary The Congressional Research Service (CRS) developed the Congressional Oversight Manual over 30 years ago, following a three-day December 1978 Workshop on Congressional Oversight and Investigations. The workshop was organized by a group of House and Senate committee aides from both parties and CRS at the request of the bipartisan House leadership. The Manual was produced by CRS with the assistance of a number of House committee staffers. In subsequent years, CRS has sponsored and conducted various oversight seminars for House and Senate staff and updated the Manual as circumstances warranted. The last revision occurred in 2007. Worth noting is the bipartisan recommendation of the House members of the 1993 Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress (Rept. No. 103-413, Vol. I): [A]s a way to further enhance the oversight work of Congress, the Joint Committee would encourage the Congressional Research Service to conduct on a regular basis, as it has done in the past, oversight seminars for Members and congressional staff and to update on a regular basis its Congressional Oversight Manual. Over the years, CRS has assisted many members, committees, party leaders, and staff aides in the performance of the oversight function, that is, the review, monitoring, and supervision of the implementation of public policy. -
The Pulitzer Prizes 2020 Winne
WINNERS AND FINALISTS 1917 TO PRESENT TABLE OF CONTENTS Excerpts from the Plan of Award ..............................................................2 PULITZER PRIZES IN JOURNALISM Public Service ...........................................................................................6 Reporting ...............................................................................................24 Local Reporting .....................................................................................27 Local Reporting, Edition Time ..............................................................32 Local General or Spot News Reporting ..................................................33 General News Reporting ........................................................................36 Spot News Reporting ............................................................................38 Breaking News Reporting .....................................................................39 Local Reporting, No Edition Time .......................................................45 Local Investigative or Specialized Reporting .........................................47 Investigative Reporting ..........................................................................50 Explanatory Journalism .........................................................................61 Explanatory Reporting ...........................................................................64 Specialized Reporting .............................................................................70 -
The Breadth of Congress' Authority to Access Information in Our Scheme
H H H H H H H H H H H 5. The Breadth of Congress’s Authority to Access Information in Our Scheme of Separated Powers Overview Congress’s broad investigatory powers are constrained both by the structural limitations imposed by our constitutional system of separated and balanced powers and by the individual rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. Thus, the president, subordinate officials, and individuals called as witnesses can assert various privileges, which enable them to resist or limit the scope of congressional inquiries. These privileges, however, are also limited. The Supreme Court has recognized the president’s constitutionally based privilege to protect the confidentiality of documents or other information that reflects presidential decision-making and deliberations. This presidential executive privilege, however, is qualified. Congress and other appropriate investigative entities may overcome the privilege by a sufficient showing of need and the inability to obtain the information elsewhere. Moreover, neither the Constitution nor the courts have provided a special exemption protecting the confidentiality of national security or foreign affairs information. But self-imposed congressional constraints on information access in these sensitive areas have raised serious institutional and practical concerns as to the current effectiveness of oversight of executive actions in these areas. With regard to individual rights, the Supreme Court has recognized that individuals subject to congressional inquiries are protected by the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments, though in many important respects those rights may be qualified by Congress’s constitutionally rooted investigatory authority. A. Executive Privilege Executive privilege is a doctrine that enables the president to withhold certain information from disclosure to the public or even Congress. -
Congress's Authority to Influence and Control Executive
Congress’s Authority to Influence and Control Executive Branch Agencies Updated December 19, 2018 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R45442 SUMMARY R45442 Congress’s Authority to Influence and Control December 19, 2018 Executive Branch Agencies Todd Garvey The Constitution neither establishes administrative agencies nor explicitly prescribes the manner Legislative Attorney by which they may be created. Even so, the Supreme Court has generally recognized that Congress has broad constitutional authority to establish and shape the federal bureaucracy. Daniel J. Sheffner Congress may use its Article I lawmaking powers to create federal agencies and individual Legislative Attorney offices within those agencies, design agencies’ basic structures and operations, and prescribe, subject to certain constitutional limitations, how those holding agency offices are appointed and removed. Congress also may enumerate the powers, duties, and functions to be exercised by agencies, as well as directly counteract, through later legislation, certain agency actions implementing delegated authority. The most potent tools of congressional control over agencies, including those addressing the structuring, empowering, regulating, and funding of agencies, typically require enactment of legislation. Such legislation must comport with constitutional requirements related to bicameralism (i.e., it must be approved by both houses of Congress) and presentment (i.e., it must be presented to the President for signature). The constitutional process to enact effective legislation requires the support of the House, Senate, and the President, unless the support in both houses is sufficient to override the President’s veto. There also are many non-statutory tools (i.e., tools not requiring legislative enactment to exercise) that may be used by the House, Senate, congressional committees, or individual Members of Congress to influence and control agency action. -
Case 1:19-Cv-01974-TNM Document 113 Filed 08/04/21 Page 1 of 37
Case 1:19-cv-01974-TNM Document 113 Filed 08/04/21 Page 1 of 37 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS, UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Plaintiff–Counterdefendant, No. 1:19-cv-1974-TNM v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY; INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE; JANET YELLEN, in her official capacity as Secretary of the United States Department of the Treasury; and CHARLES P. RETTIG, in his official capacity as Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, Defendants–Crossdefendants, and DONALD J. TRUMP; THE DONALD J. TRUMP REVOCABLE TRUST; DJT HOLDINGS LLC; DJT HOLDINGS MANAGING MEMBER LLC; DTTM OPERATIONS LLC; DTTM OPERATIONS MANAGING MEMBER CORP.; LFB ACQUISITION MEMBER CORP.; LFB ACQUISITION LLC; and LAMINGTON FARM CLUB, LLC d/b/a TRUMP NATIONAL GOLF CLUB-BEDMINSTER Intervenors–Counterclaimants– Crossclaimants. ANSWER AND COUNTERCLAIMS/CROSS-CLAIMS Intervenors—Donald J. Trump, The Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, DJT Holdings LLC, DJT Holdings Managing Member LLC, DTTM Operations LLC, DTTM Operations Managing Member Corp, LFB Acquisition Member Corp., LFB Acquisition LLC, and Lamington Farm Club, LLC d/b/a Trump National Golf Club-Bedminster—respectfully submit this responsive pleading pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12 and 24(c). 1 Case 1:19-cv-01974-TNM Document 113 Filed 08/04/21 Page 2 of 37 ANSWER 1. Intervenors deny that the Committee’s requests are valid oversight requests or that they are entitled to any relief. Intervenors admit the rest. 2. The text of Section 6103(f) speaks for itself. Intervenors admit that Congress enacted the Revenue Act of 1924 in 1924. -
Contempt of Courts? President Trump's
CONTEMPT OF COURTS? PRESIDENT TRUMP’S TRANSFORMATION OF THE JUDICIARY Brendan Williams* Faced with a letter from the American Bar Association (ABA) assessing him as “arrogant, lazy, an ideologue, and lacking in knowledge of the day-to-day practice,” Lawrence VanDyke, nominated by President Trump to serve on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, cried during an October 2019 confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.1 Republican senators dutifully attacked the ABA as liberally-biased.2 In a Wall Street Journal column, a defender of VanDyke assailed what he called a “smear campaign” and wrote that “[t]he ABA’s aggressive politicization is especially frustrating for someone like me, an active member of the ABA[.]”3 VanDyke was confirmed anyway.4 Contrary to Republican protestations, the ABA has deemed 97% of President Trump’s nominees to be “well qualified” or “qualified.”5 Indeed, in the most polarizing judicial nomination of the Trump Administration, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Kavanaugh’s defenders pointed to the ABA having rated him “well qualified” despite the association having once, in 2006, dropped his rating to “qualified” due to concerns about his temperament.6 *Attorney Brendan Williams is the author of over 30 law review articles, predominantly on civil rights and health care issues. A former Washington Supreme Court judicial clerk, Brendan is a New Hampshire long-term care advocate. This article is dedicated to his father Wayne Williams, admitted to the Washington bar in 1970. 1Hannah Knowles, Trump Judicial Nominee Cries over Scathing Letter from the American Bar Association, WASH. POST (Oct. 30, 2015). 2Id. -
051205 Congress Reform
SPECIAL PRESENTATION “A PROPOSAL TO MAKE CONGRESS WORK AGAIN: A PANEL DISCUSSION ON PROPOSED CHANGES IN THE RULES AND PROCEDURES OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES” MODERATOR: SCOTT LILLY, SENIOR FELLOW, CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS FEATURING: REP. DAVID OBEY, (D-WI), RANKING MEMBER, COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS REP. BARNEY FRANK, (D-MA), RANKING MEMBER, COMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL SERVICES REP. DAVID PRICE, (D-NC), MEMBER, COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS REP. TOM ALLEN, (D-ME), MEMBER, COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE NORM ORNSTEIN, RESIDENT SCHOLAR, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE; COAUTHOR, BROKEN BRANCH 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM MONDAY, DECEMBER 05, 2005 TRANSCRIPT PROVIDED BY DC TRANSCRIPTION & MEDIA REPURPOSING JOHN PODESTA: (In progress) – Center for American Progress. And I want to welcome you here for the presentation of “A Proposal to Make Congress Work Again.” I want to begin by welcoming our panelists. We’re joined, in addition to our senior fellow, Scott Lilly, by Congressman David Obey, Congressman Barney Frank, Congressman David Price, Congressman Tom Allen, and Norm Ornstein. I think that people on both sides of the aisle will join me in saying, in addition to these senior members and Norm, these are people who care about Congress, who care about the House, who indeed care about our democracy. And I think, as the title of this panel implies, “Making Congress Work Again” – I think it is clear that things on Capitol Hill, and I think particularly in the House of Representatives, have gotten seriously off-track. That’s why I think this package that these senior members have pulled together is so vital. -
MUR# 1J(Q5 .-··, "•- R
MUR726500001 BEFORE THE FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION COMMON CAUSE 805 Fifteenth Street, NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20005 --,-, (202) 833-1200 ~-'l MUR# 1J(Q5 .-··, "•- r , . ' PAULS. RYAN 805 Fifteenth Street, NW, Suite 800 C) Washington, DC 20005 (202) 833-1200 v. MUR No. ___ DONALD J. TRUMP FOR PRESIDENT, INC. 725 Fifth A venue New York, NY 10022 DONALD TRUMP JR. d o The Trump Organization 725 Fifth A venue New York, NY 10022 COMPLAINT 1. This complaint is filed pursuant to 52 U.S.C. § 30109(a)(l) and is based on infonnation and belief that Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign committee, Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. (I.D. C00580100), and Donald Trump Jr. solicited a contribution from a foreign national in violation ofthe Federal Election Campaign Act ("FECA"), 52 U.S.C. § 30101, et seq. 2. Specifically, based on published reports, complainants have reason to believe that Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. and Donald Trump Jr. violated FECA's ban on soliciting a contribution from a foreign national in connection with a Federal election, 52 U.S.C. MUR726500002 § 3012l(a)(2), by meeting with a "Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer during the 2016 campaign" in an effort to obtain "damaging information about Hillary Clinton." 1 3. "Ifthe Commission, upon receiving a complaint ... has reason to believe that a person has committed, or is about to commit, a violation of [the FECA) ... [t]he Commission shall make an investigation ofsuch alleged violation ...." 52 U.S.C. § 30109(a)(2) (emphasis added); see also 11 C.F.R. -
Initial Stages of Federal Litigation: Overview
Initial Stages of Federal Litigation: Overview MARCELLUS MCRAE AND ROXANNA IRAN, GIBSON DUNN & CRUTCHER LLP WITH HOLLY B. BIONDO AND ELIZABETH RICHARDSON-ROYER, WITH PRACTICAL LAW LITIGATION A Practice Note explaining the initial steps of a For more information on commencing a lawsuit in federal court, including initial considerations and drafting the case initiating civil lawsuit in US district courts and the major documents, see Practice Notes, Commencing a Federal Lawsuit: procedural and practical considerations counsel Initial Considerations (http://us.practicallaw.com/3-504-0061) and Commencing a Federal Lawsuit: Drafting the Complaint (http:// face during a lawsuit's early stages. Specifically, us.practicallaw.com/5-506-8600); see also Standard Document, this Note explains how to begin a lawsuit, Complaint (Federal) (http://us.practicallaw.com/9-507-9951). respond to a complaint, prepare to defend a The plaintiff must include with the complaint: lawsuit and comply with discovery obligations The $400 filing fee. early in the litigation. Two copies of a corporate disclosure statement, if required (FRCP 7.1). A civil cover sheet, if required by the court's local rules. This Note explains the initial steps of a civil lawsuit in US district For more information on filing procedures in federal court, see courts (the trial courts of the federal court system) and the major Practice Note, Commencing a Federal Lawsuit: Filing and Serving the procedural and practical considerations counsel face during a Complaint (http://us.practicallaw.com/9-506-3484). lawsuit's early stages. It covers the steps from filing a complaint through the initial disclosures litigants must make in connection with SERVICE OF PROCESS discovery.