Posted on 05/11/2014 10:35:51 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
The House has held Lois Lerner in contempt, but it wont 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 IRSs targeting of conservative groups.
Im not sure we want to go down that path, Boehner said. Its 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. Im not sure that its 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 dont know, but the ball is in his court, Boehner said.
The U.S. attorneys 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.
Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/205792-boehner-house-wont-arrest-lerner#ixzz31Qh5wTCv Follow us: @thehill on Twitter | TheHill on Facebook
For what possible reason would she cooperate? If she truly believes she needs “protection”, it’s doubtful she thinks Boehner & crew can provide it. She’s better off keeping her traitor’s mouth shut now that she’s safe from any consequence besides a sternly worded letter.
Purely symbolic impotence.
Boehner said, I wont have her arrested because I am a coward, and have deep seated anxiety about being called mean when I do anything that opposes Democrats. Even if they burned down my house, raped my wife and slaughtered my children, I wouldnt call the police, because Democrats would call me bad names, and only that matters to me. Let me once again beg my masters not to hurt me!
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MORE TO ABOVE STORY
Question from ‘Mild Mannered Reporter’.
“Mr Speaker, if this is your stand, why did you even hold the vote?”
Answer from “Lily Livered Speaker of House”
“You are new aren’t you son?
Don’t you realize those wascally ‘TEA Party(smirk)’ types had a viable candidate to beat me in the Primary.
I had to do some fancy footwork to make my constituents think I was doing what I was sent here to do, so I had to go back to my District with the ‘record’ of showing them we were going to put an end to this Lerner BS.
The idiots fell for it hook, line and sinker”
Q....”Why would you admit to this on National TV?”
A....”It doesn’t matter now, those IDIOTS have no one else to vote for AND not many people with ‘common sense’ watch these Sunday ‘freak shows’ anyway and the MSM won’t use or print it till the day before the election”
Note to the weeping drunkard, John Boehner, shirking duty and passing the job off to the DOJ marks you as incompetent and unfit for office. Do your damn job.
Congress has the authority to arrest and imprison those found in Contempt. The power extends throughout the United States and is an inherent power (does not depend upon legislated act)
If found in Contempt the person can be arrested under a warrant of the Speaker of the House of Representatives or President of the Senate, by the respective Sergeant at Arms.
Statutory criminal contempt is an alternative to inherent contempt.
Under the inherent contempt power Congress may imprison a person for a specific period of time or an indefinite period of time, except a person imprisoned by the House of Representatives may not be imprisoned beyond adjournment of a session of Congress.
Imprisonment may be coercive or punitive.
Some references
[1] Joseph Storys Commentaries on the Constitution, Volume 2, § 842
http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/print_documents/a1_5s21.html
[2] Anderson v. Dunn - 19 U.S. 204 - And, as to the distance to which the process might reach, it is very clear that there exists no reason for confining its operation to the limits of the District of Columbia; after passing those limits, we know no bounds that can be prescribed to its range but those of the United States.
http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/19/204/case.html
[3] Jurney v. MacCracken, 294 U.S. 125
http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/294/125/case.html
73rd Cong., 78 Cong. Rec. 2410 (1934)
https://archive.org/details/congressionalrec78aunit
[4] McGrain v. Daugherty, 273 U.S. 135 - Under a warrant issued by the President of the Senate the Deputy to the Senate Sergeant at Arms arrested at Cincinnati, Ohio, Mally S. Daugherty, who had been twice subpoenaed by the Senate and twice failed to appear.
http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/273/135/case.html
[5] Rules of the House of Representatives, Rule IV Duties of the Sergeant at Arms - [] execute the commands of the House, and all processes issued by authority thereof, directed to him by the Speaker.
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/HMAN-105/pdf/HMAN-105-pg348.pdf
[6] An analysis of Congressional inquiry, subpoena, and enforcement
http://www.constitutionproject.org/documents/when-congress-comes-calling-a-primer-on-the-principles-practices-and-pragmatics-of-legislative-inquiry/
I get why: The IRS was investigating the sole grassroots effort to wrest control from the Oligarchy.
The Democrats and Republicans are equal partners in the Oligarchy.
Boneheader actually wishes the IRS deal would never have been investigated, frankly.
Campus radical who seized the Dept of Justice building threatens to use DoJ powers to arrest Congress members if Lerner is arrested. :)
Doesn’t anyone in the House have the balls to just order the federal marshalls to arrest and perp-walk her in front of the TC cameras, and if necessary apologize later?
"Ms. Lerner, do you really want to take the chance that President Cruz and AG Bill McCollum won't have you indicted and raked over the coals, complete with the perp walk and hard time in Club Fed, just a few years from now? Obama isn't going to care enough about what happens to you to have you pardoned when his term is up, especially since that would be like him admitting he was a dictator using the IRS. You work with us now, and you're going to look like The Small-Time Victim here rather than a crook who took orders from the Crook in Chief. Remember John Dean? You could even testify that you told the President that there was--what did Dean say?--a "cancer on the Presidency" and you tried to get out of what Obama wanted you to do. So what's it gonna be: you gonna play ball with us and skate, or you gonna throw the dice and hope you don't lose the rest of your life?"
Weak. Tell him what you really think.
The public servants need to look out for one another and watch each other’s back. They need to protect each other from those “angry” Americans, like me, who would like to see them all in jail for their crimes.
Boner,
If it wasn’t against the law they would be stacking you folks like cordwood.
Better?
Worthless, ball-less, pointless...
Well, I think she’ll take her chances. It remains to be seen what Gowdy will accomplish; regardless, I have no confidence that the next administration — whoever it is — will revisit this issue, certainly not in the context of jail time.
This way, it's a non-story...he can always decide to arrest her later if Holder refuses to act..
The contempt charge has been referred to the Justice Department, and Boehner said it is up to Attorney General Eric Holder to prosecute Lerner.
Well gee gosh Holder was charged with contempt and nothing happened looks like the whole thing is a dog and pony show.
You right. Forgive me Boner for thinking bad of you, I now realize you were outmaneuvering em. Got it now.
Well..let’s not get toooooooo carried away here....LOL
Can we replace bonehead with someone with more ba**s like a 1st grade little girl?
Maybe he will get a kiss from mac daddy for being such a loyal sock puppet.
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