Glic makes an important catch this morning in his diary: MTP -Leahy on Contempt: "Yes, I Would Go That Far"
The key comment from Leahy:
Patrick Leahy is on "Meet The Press" right now and Tim Russert just asked him if he was prepared to go as far as holding in contempt those who refuse to comply with a subpoena. Leahy upped the ante by responding that that would be up to the entire Congress, to which Russert asked if Leahy personally would be willing to go that far. Leahy responded, "Yes, I would go that far.."
The key question from Russert:
"You have to go to the next step to see if they have a legitimate claim of executive privilege...then you invoke the contempt citation."
Russert: "Are you sure the US Attorney would prosecute?"
Leahy: "It would be very difficult for them not to"
Kudos to both Leahy and Russert here. Of course, we're all encouraged to see Senator Leahy say he has no doubt but that defiance of his subpoenas is tantamount to contempt of Congress.
But it's Russert who gets the gold star from me this morning, for being up to speed about the process. The US Attorney does not have to prosecute. Yes, it would be politically difficult not to, but remember, that's exactly why we are where we are. Senator Leahy has had to issue these subpoenas precisely because the "administration" has been doing such incredibly stupid and destructive things as selectively prosecuting cases for political purposes.
Kudos, then, to Russert for even knowing to ask the question. I thought it would take another two months for the media to catch on to the possibility that this could lead to contempt and that there was even a question about whether or not it would be prosecuted.
To learn more about what can happen if the US Attorney refuses to prosecute, see Dusting off "Inherent Contempt".
UPDATE: It occurs to me that an important question to ask your Senators (and Members of the House) would be if they would "go that far." You know, like Josh Marshall style.
"If the 'administration' defies duly issued Congressional subpoenas (bipartisan, by the way -- by a 13-3 vote), will you protect the legislative prerogative and co-equal powers of Congress by voting to hold them in contempt? Yes or no?"