A representative of the House Government Reform Committee was en route to Florida from Washington, D.C., late Friday morning to deliver the subpoenas. The U.S. Marshal's Service has the legal authority to enforce the subpoenas and to arrest any person who attempts to interfere with their execution or to harm or kill a subpoenaed witness or, in any other way, prevent Congress from taking their testimony.
Article Quick, who wrote this:
Congress does have subpoena power pursuant to its investigative authority. The matter that they wish to investigate sub judice, is the long term care of incapacitated adults. Being a small government kind of guy, I don't believe they have the constitutional authority to investigate that issue. However, since all meaning of the Constituiton has been obliterated, Congress was probably correct in issuing them.
Once these subpoenas were issued, they have the force of law. No one can interfere with Terri Schiavo testifying at this hearing on March 28. Judge Greer did that by ordering the feeding tube removed. And in his Order, essentially thumbing his nose at Congress.
The proper procedure in this matter would have been for Michael Schiavo to go to US Distrcit Court for the Middle District of Florida and file a motion to quash the subpoenas for the reasons I articulated above. He failed to do so, I see that Congress has little choice but to enforce the subpoena. This is done by the President of the Senate or Speaker of the House authorizing a resolution finding Greer, Michael Schiavo and the medical personnel at the hospicce who removed her feeding tube in contempt of congress. The US Attorney for the WD of Florida could then and should prosecute.
a href="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1366013/posts?page=123#123">Big Easy Big Easy is on the right track. The mistake he is making is that the President need not wait for congress to refer a matter out to stop a crime from being committed. A criminal prosecution starts with an indictment being filed, but the FBI or a policeman can stop the crime without there having been an indictment first.
Also, in addition to Congress' ability to refer out a contempt citation under 2 USC 192, there is another federal statute that makes it a crime to interfere with the subpoena. That is the statute referred to in the above article. I read it at the time this subpoena was issued, and it lists several different ways that the interference can occur.
Keep researching, bigeasy. Your heart is in the right place.
You are confusing legislative subpoenas with judicial subpoenas. They are two different animals.