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Kaz Weida
@kazweida
, 11 tweets, 5 min read Read on Twitter
This #SundayMorning we're doing a deep dive on congressional subpoenas. As impeachment inquiries ramp up, what options do Dems have to enforce subpoenas?

The White House has been ignoring subpoenas for several months. Will it be different now?
(THREAD)
washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/…
(2) Congress really has three ways they can enforce subpoenas.
1: Criminal contempt
2: Civil enforcement
3: Inherent contempt

Let's go through these one by one and discuss the viability of each option. First, up criminal contempt.

nbcnews.com/think/opinion/…
(3) I'll be frank. With good ole Billy Barr at the helm of the DOJ, criminal contempt is a dead end. That's because it requires the support of the DOJ to find a person in contempt and enforce the subpoena.

Right now the DOJ is the WH legal defense team.

rantt.com/why-barr-is-he…
(4) Next up, civil enforcement. Back in June the House voted to give committees the power to sue officials who ignore Congressional subpoenas.

The first person they used it on was Don McGahn, who refused to testify about WH obstruction of Mueller.

reuters.com/article/us-usa…
(5) Currently, the lawsuit is still sitting in court, where lawyers had previously been negotiating terms of McGahn's testimony and wading through red tape.

This process seems too slow & inadequate to address the urgency of our constitutional crisis.

abcnews.go.com/Politics/house…
(6) So now we arrive at the last option, and it's something of a scorched earth approach. Inherent contempt.

And it's only been used a couple of times since it was established by the Supreme Court as legal precedent in the 1821 case of Anderson v. Dunn

supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/…
(7) Yes, Congress does have the power to arrest officials who refuse subpoenas. First, they have to issue a vote for contempt of Congress.

Then they could circumvent the DOJ and send the sergeant-at-arms to detain someone in secure rooms at the Capitol.

reuters.com/article/us-usa…
(8) There's a reason this has never been done without the DOJ & it's not for the faint of heart. The political blowback would be tremendous & unprecedented.

What's more likely (and probably a smarter strategy) is that Congress can pursue leveraging fines

crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL…
(9) Each contempt vote can continue to add credence to the civil case, especially backed by an official impeachment inquiry. The courts and the court of public opinion would compel compliance.

At that point, officials aren't just in contempt of Congress.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
(10) White House officials demonstrate inherent contempt for our Consitution by refusing to recognize the power of co-equal branches of government.

As the crisis escalates, members of Congress will face a choice. Enable a dictatorship or uphold the principles of democracy.
(END) Thanks for stopping for our #SundayMorning thread, courtesy of a suggestion by @EquivocalMoose . Come back next week and we'll do this again.

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More from @kazweida see all

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Kaz Weida
@kazweida
It’s been almost 7 months since we adopted a senior rescue. Foxx is literally not the same dog he was in March.

After treatment for thyroid problems and what I suspect have been lifelong allergies, his fur grew back and we discovered coloring we never knew he had.
(THREAD)
After he was adopted, Foxx didn’t bark for a week & slept much of the time.

Daily walks have slimmed Foxx down. And lord does he run. It’s hard to believe he’s 8 years old sometimes.

And as you can see, Foxx is fully recovered from bladder stone surgery thank you very much.
Lately, Foxx has actually started to play. It’s something he wasn’t interested in much at first. I find myself kind of tearing up watching him rediscover a sillier, more playful side.

Such a good boy.
#AdoptDontShop
Read 3 tweets
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Kaz Weida
@kazweida
This #SundayMorning we're scratching our heads trying to figure out why both Pompeo & Barr are going abroad next week.

It seems like a terrible time to be out of the country as the White House faces credible accusations that could lead to impeachment.

What's going on?
(THREAD)
(2) First, let's match up schedules. Pompeo's first stop next week is Italy to see the pope, then onto Montenegro and North Macedonia, then Greece.

He says he's there to reassure the Balkans and encourage them to resist Russian influence.

channelnewsasia.com/news/world/pom…
(3) What about Barr? He's in Italy right now and I don't think it's because he ran there to avoid subpoenas involved in the whistleblower scandal.

The last-minute trip was kept quiet until wheels were up and there haven't been many details about Barr's business in Italy.
Read 9 tweets
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Kaz Weida
@kazweida
I hear we’re recounting episodes of “harmless fun” according to the @nytimes so I’ll add mine.

My hs class president & his bestie trapping me between them on a bed, groping me & trying to force their way into a locked bathroom to finish the assault.

Anyone who views these assaults as “harmless fun” is part of the problem.
You can share your episodes of #harmlessfun in the comments. I imagine many of these incidents don’t make it onto the radar of the perpetrator but they remain indelible in the hippocampus to the rest of us.

This is what it means to live in the patriarchy.
pbs.org/newshour/healt…
Read 3 tweets

Related threads

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Malena Fighting Tyranny & Concentration Camps
@tweetMalena
So Democrats have not been running ads about this scandal or #impeachment. So let's help them out. Let's make a series of ads & retweet the he!! out of them. Let's share them on every platform & even email them to our LOW INFORMATION family members, lol! Share yours here!
I have been a proponent for #impeachment since day 1 of Trump's term, but now we have him dead to rights! Trump is under Putin's thumb. Trump asks for help from Ukraine & tells them to make a deal with Putin who is literally invaded Ukraine & killing thousands of Ukrainians.
Are you a part of the #ImpeachmentTaskForce? Help spread the message of how vital it is to stand up for the rule of law!Learn the facts & develop talking points. Look to influence low information voters. You can't make an impact on hardcore MAGA types but YOU CAN MAKE AN IMPACT!
Read 10 tweets
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Peter Daou
@peterdaou
Republicans have the courts.

They have the White House.

They have the Senate.

They have more governors.

They have the oligarchs.

They have no scruples.

.....

And Dems have the House, where #impeachment happens.

Just do it, leave a mark on his presidency, and be done.
We need to take back our country from rightwing extremists. We can only do it by building a powerful progressive movement.

#Impeachment is a crucial step in the direction of fighting back but it's hardly the solution. Drawing it out won't change the reality of GOP dominance.
#Impeachment should have happened in January, as a statement for history that the Democratic Party will unequivocally defend the rule of law. Dithering for 8 months has accomplished nothing but allow Trump to trample the Constitution and harm more people.
Read 3 tweets
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Patrick Simpson
@patrickLSimpson
IMPEACHMENT - A Brilliant and long article medium.com/@j363j/indictm…
1. Obstruction of Justice

Ordered McGahn to deny Trump’s attempt to fire Mueller
Asked Comey to “see your way to letting this go” for Flynn
Comey firing
Attempted Mueller firing
Attempted to influence Manafort jury

Thanks to @j363j for being awesome

#Impeachment
Trump lawyers' obstruction
Attempted to disable Special Counsel investigation
Tried to have investigation focus on future elections
Tried to have Sessions take over investigation
Failure to produce Russian sanctions report

#Impeachment
Read 25 tweets
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Oeishik M.G. C. JD
@TributeProjects
A note on #impeachment -

In a court of law, under non-presidential circumstances, impeachment is a tool litigation attorneys use to discredit the opposing side's witnesses at trial. When said witness takes the stand under oath attys. present evidence contrary to what the witness
claims. This weakens the other side's case by discrediting impeached witnesses's testimony. Once a witness has been impeached - by presentment of inconsistent testimony - the judge/jury can no longer use the impeached witnesses's testimony in reaching a verdict.
Simply put, they aren't trustworthy. In the case of Presidential impeachment that broad definition of impeachment applies, but the impeachment tool is used for a very different purpose. Under the Constitution, a sitting President cannot be tried in a court of law for anything.
Read 25 tweets
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Joseph Britt
@Zathras3
Vigorous #impeachment discussion yesterday between polls and elections expert @NateSilver538 (con) and former Harry Reid person @AJentleson (pro). The subject is worth a thread.
2. As with most issues before Congress, substance and politics are closely related but distinguishable. As to substance, the argument -- persuasive to me -- is that obstruction of justice, contacts with Russians seeking to influence a US election, corruption and the rest...
3...will do mortal damage to American democracy if tolerated. Not proceeding toward impeachment proceedings means tolerating all of these things, though it is possible to deceive oneself on that point. The political argument @NateSilver538 makes is about American voters.
Read 27 tweets
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Mona
@Monaheart1229
"Democrats risk alienating women or African-Americans depending on how they respond to allegations that Lt. Gov. Fairfax of Va sexually assaulted two women." #SundayMorning
nytimes.com/2019/02/09/us/…
2-"RICHMOND, Va. — Justin E. Fairfax’s refusal to resign as lieutenant governor of Virginia in the face of two allegations of sexual assault has presented Democrats with an excruciating choice: whether to impeach an African-American leader at a moment when the state’s other two
3-"top leaders, both white, are resisting calls to quit after admitting to racist conduct. Less than a week after Gov. Ralph Northam and Attorney General Mark R. Herring said they wore blackface as young men, Mr. Fairfax on Friday faced a second assault accusation in three days.
Read 42 tweets

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