tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4146148016062694502.post6307874375139257091..comments2024-01-05T12:03:52.460-05:00Comments on No Lawyers - Only Guns and Money: Quote Of The DayJohn Richardsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03151468462458613615noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4146148016062694502.post-57486983724987806772011-10-28T16:14:14.250-04:002011-10-28T16:14:14.250-04:00Hmmm, without the support of the Executive to do c...Hmmm, without the support of the Executive to do contempt of Congress themselves they'd have to drag the offender into the Capital building (as I read the Wikipedia entry). That might prove difficult for the "unavailable" guy sent to Iraq. And that assumes the Republican leadership would have any stomach for such action.<br /><br />I suppose they could "grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal", it would hardly stretch the Constitution any more than it already has been (although obviously it would be a <b>very</b> bad idea for internal issues).ThatWouldBeTellinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16910231314995266781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4146148016062694502.post-58237634322206615022011-10-28T14:55:18.924-04:002011-10-28T14:55:18.924-04:00@HGA: You are correct that any perjury charges wou...@HGA: You are correct that any perjury charges would have to be brought by the US Attorney on referral from Congress. I believe the only charges that Congress can bring directly are impeachment and contempt of Congress.John Richardsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03151468462458613615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4146148016062694502.post-28194449894381690992011-10-28T10:58:30.116-04:002011-10-28T10:58:30.116-04:00Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the s...Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the strong impression that the Constitution absolutely denies to the Congress the power of criminal prosecution; that is solely vested in the Executive and with good historical reasons. We are by design not a Westminster parliamentary system where the winning party gets a temporary monopoly on both the legislative and executive functions of government.<br /><br />The Congress has soft power as the nation's Grand Inquisitor, which is what Issa is doing, plus of course the power of impeachment. But that's it (they do have the power of the purse, but again, they can't enforce that except through the two previously mentioned mechanisms).ThatWouldBeTellinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16910231314995266781noreply@blogger.com