Posted on 05/11/2014 8:07:02 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
Boehner: House won't arrest Lerner
By Russell Berman - 05/11/14 10:53 AM EDT
The House has held Lois Lerner in contempt, but it won’t use its power to place the former IRS official under arrest, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said on Sunday.
Under a precedent affirmed by the Supreme Court, each chamber of Congress can authorize its sergeant-at-arms to detain individuals it holds in contempt. But Boehner said on "Fox News Sunday" that he has no interest in doing that with Lerner, whom the House last week voted to hold in contempt over her refusal to testify about her role in the IRS’s targeting of conservative groups.
“I’m not sure we want to go down that path,” Boehner said. “It’s never been used,” he said of the provision allowing Congress to arrest individuals and place them in the Capitol jail. The Senate has in fact used that power, but not in the last 80 years. “I’m not sure that it’s an appropriate way to go about this,” Boehner said.
The contempt charge has been referred to the Justice Department, and Boehner said it is up to Attorney General Eric Holder to prosecute Lerner.
“Now will he do it? We don’t know, but the ball is in his court,” Boehner said.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Washington has said it is reviewing the referral. Lerner has repeatedly invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, but the House contends she waived that right by defending herself in an opening statement at a House hearing last year before she refused to answer questions from lawmakers.
I can’t find that anyone has ever been physically held in contempt of congress.
And if you add on to that....they have to deal with Holder. Seriously!? Why anyone expected anything to happen is beyond me.
So says John "Poker Face" Boehner - but wrongly.
Even the NY Times knows more about congress than the Republican congressional leader:
Congress Has a Way of Making Witnesses Speak: Its Own Jail
"Congress Has a Way of Making Witnesses Speak: Its Own Jail In 1795, shortly after the Constitution was ratified, the House ordered its sergeant at arms to arrest and detain two men accused of trying to bribe members of Congress. The House held a trial and convicted one of them.
In 1821, the Supreme Court upheld Congress’s right to hold people in contempt and imprison them. Without this power, the court ruled, Congress would “be exposed to every indignity and interruption, that rudeness, caprice, or even conspiracy, may mediate against it.” Later, in a 1927 case arising from the Teapot Dome scandal, the court upheld the Senate’s arrest of the brother of a former attorney general — carried out in Ohio by the deputy sergeant at arms — for ignoring a subpoena to testify."
hehe
Here’s the NY Times on it when there was a Republican administration:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/04/opinion/04tue4.html?_r=0
After the CIC and AG are in prison, then we can discuss who’s next.
Once again boner proves he is no boner. Limp.
No we don’t. We have the “red short blue shirt” uniparty. The only difference is that, quite a number of the “blue shirts” are true believers in their marxist totalitarian vision, and will work day and night to enforce it. The “red shirt” side just wants to protect its perks and local power, and will cave on every plank in the platform to do so. They don’t care if they don’t attain the majority for purposes of directing the course of the country, they just want to protect their personal power and position.
No, more like jaywalking. A speeding ticket has more consequences.
So why bother. Might as well erect a statue of her for all the good the contempt citation does.
Of course, my contempt for Congress is unending. Just think, we are paying EACH AND EVERY MEMBER of Congress $174k/yr. plus benefits. And they enrich themselves on insider trading. And THEY DO NOTHING.
The law which would allow for Lerner’s arrest has NEVER been used.
Lerner is NOT the one to use this trump card on!
It’s not even that bad. A speeding ticket will eventually come back to haunt you.
It is now official and has been for some time. The government can come after you for any reason they choose ad there’s nothing you can do about it.
With republicans like this the elites can get away with anything. To me it just proves that both parties are a dog and pony show. Neither party is a friend of the people.
I remember otherwise sweet Megyn saying re Bunkerville “well, uh, I’m a lawyer and in my opinion as a lawyer Bundy broke the law and the law is not on his side”. Leis Wiehl say essentially the same thing and so on.
They all went on to opine day after day that “the law must be respected” and we have nothing but chaos if its not”.
Now comes Lois Lerner who is, and has, shooting the finger at the American People’s Representatives who in turn found her in contempt.
Absent consequences, what does holding someone in contempt mean?
Answer: Absolutely nothing!
So, now we know why millions of Americans are on Bundy’s side. To wit: Americans see time after time after time that, despite the Megyn’s and Leis Wiehls ignorant statements, the ruling class” has no respect for the law so why should we.
Aren’t we to the point, more or less demonstrated in Bunkerville, and as Mao himself famously said, “power comes out of the end of a gun barrel”.
Bingo.
What the hell is the point then? She has no incentive to tell the truth.
Did he pee in his pants before making this announcement?
I thought he had the slightest hint of having a pair, but after winning the primary on Tuesday he can put them back on the shelf to collect dustbfor the next two years.
...which she won’t pay.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.