Robert Reich: Congress Should Be Ready to Arrest Attorney General Barr if He Defies Subpoena

[babylonsister]

https://prospect.org/article/congress-should-be-ready-arrest-attorney-general-barr-if-he-defies-subpoena


Congress Should Be Ready to Arrest Attorney General Barr if He Defies Subpoena
Robert Reich
May 7, 2019
How lawmakers can counter the president's most dangerous power grab yet.


snip//

Would America really be subject to the wild spectacle of the sergeant-at-arms of the House arresting an attorney general and possibly placing him in jail?

Probably not. Before that ever occurred, the Trump administration would take the matter to the Supreme Court on an expedited basis.

Sadly, there seems no other way to get Trump to move. Putting the onus on the Trump administration to get the issue to the court as soon as possible is the only way to force Trump into action, and not simply seek to run out the clock before the next election.

What would the court decide? With two Trump appointees now filling nine of the seats, it’s hardly a certainty.

But in a case that grew out of the Teapot Dome scandal in 1927, the court held that the investigative power of Congress is at its peak when lawmakers look into fraud or maladministration in another government department.

Decades later, when Richard Nixon tried to block the release of incriminating recordings of his discussions with aides, the Supreme Court decided that a claim of executive privilege did not protect information relevant to the investigation of potential crimes.

Trump’s contempt for the inherent power of Congress cannot stand. It is the most dictatorial move he has initiated since becoming president.

[BlueJac]

1. Now that is what I'm talking about!!

[lagomorph777]

2. Congress is Article I, baby!

POTUS is Article II.

Suck it, Trump!

[mopinko]

3. i think pelosi should have the sergeant at arms clean up the house jail.

ya know, just be prepared.

[Jakes Progress]

4. Reich is getting silly.

Who wrestles barr to the ground while his 10 man FBI body guards are watching?

Listing all the court decisions from the past is just ignorant. trump is not going to abide by any laws. The executive branch is the part of the government that enforces laws. trump is the head of the executive branch. Stamping our little feet and whining that he's wrong is not going to do a thing. Why do we always have to wait until too late to discover that republicans lie and cheat and don't give a damn about what the law says. We are becoming a crime family governed country...just like russia.

If 10 or so republican senators don't decide to save the country, right now, we have nothing to keep our democracy going.

[pangaia]

5. You are one of the few who know exactly what is happening and sees

what is about to happen.

DEMS ! WAKE UP!!!

I don't know what WILL work but I can guess what COULD work.

[Jakes Progress]

19. But it makes the uninformed feel so mighty

to stomp their feet and demand action. They like to feel tough. I guess it is cathartic after watching the news every night, but it doesn't accomplish anything.

[Duppers]

11. Congress has the sergeant of arms at its disposal.

If FBI agents interfered to protect Barr, then there's a constitutional crisis that would have to be settled by the courts.

I fear that's where we're headed anyway.

Media is not going their jobs informing the public.

[triron]

16. Media is fucking complicit in this tyranny.

[Jakes Progress]

17. Paul Irving is 61. He is not a Bruce Willis character.

He would not even be allowed near barr. A constitutional crisis is exactly what putin is advising trump to start. It degrades our Democracy and lets him call it proof that Democracy doesn't work.

Media is made up of millionaires who decide what gets on the screen.

That a retired SS guy would try to arrest and bring in the Attorney General is something that comes from watching too many movies.

[Rambling Man]

20. Yes

and yes.

Thank you!

Every time I read crap about Paul Irving descending from the heavens like Robocop with mighty arrest powers, I am led to the same conclusion: people watch too much tv and too many movies.

No magic bullet will appear. The good guys won't win in the end. They never do.

[Duppers]

22. Who said a damn thing

About getting the least bit physical? I never even envisioned that. Barr refuses to go, fine; it moves to the courts.

But have it your way - all of this is a lost cause. Let's hang it up and go home.

🐦

[Rambling Man]

23. hang on a second

I'm in the middle of writing a strongly worded letter right now, I'll get back to you on this.

[Duppers]

25. Not hanging anywhere.

Bye.

[Rambling Man]

26. If a black kid from one of our nation's many segregated apartheid neighborhoods

did 1/10th of the shit these motherfuckers are getting away with, they'd put him under the jail.

There are tons of incarcerated people doing time for telephone conversations about drugs.

It's called conspiracy.

Or go write a hot check in Mississippi. Same difference.

Laws are for little people with no power or wealth.

It's encoded in the system's DNA.

[Jakes Progress]

41. It's not confusing. (but it is depressing)

Last edited Wed May 8, 2019, 10:39 PM - Edit history (1)

It is not necessary to have the Sgt. at Arms go confront the FBI agents. Getting all het up about how, by god, we're gonna go and be forceful and tough and angry faced is the movie part of the scenario. Your statement admits this. barr isn't going to go anywhere (or even be seen by the Sgt.). It was always going to the courts. That is what trump wants -- a three year court battle and his rigged republican judges.

I stand by my post. If it makes people feel good to talk tough and suggest futile and pointless action, then let them feel good. It is another way of admitting a lost cause and going home.

[Duppers]

24. ...

See my post #22.

[Jakes Progress]

42. Why?

See my post #41.

[pangaia]

35. If Irving could actually do anything he wouldn't be called the SERGEANT At Arms.

he wold be the FOUR STAR GENERAL At Arms !

[Hortensis]

12. Congress technically has the authority to have Barr charged

and arrested. Though such a thing has never happened and is unlikely to, the notion that, if it did, some FBI agents would mount an insurrection against the U.S. House of Representatives is not realistic.

Here's an explanation from Vox regarding the various authorities/powers at play that'll hopefully offer some encouragement, because 10 Republican senators are not going to save our country. They've become a far more serious enemy to democracy than Trump.

https://www.vox.com/2019/5/6/18531224/contempt-of-congress-ag-william-barr

[watoos]

28. It takes more than 10 Republican Senators to get to 67.

I read the link, it is exactly what Trump wants, everything tied up in the courts until after the election.

Everything is going according to plan. Regular investigative hearings are going to get Democrats nothing. McGahn could testify if he so chooses and that would be huge, but I don't think he has the guts. Mueller could resign from justice and then testify and that too would be huge. I don't think that Trump can stop Mueller from testifying as a private citizen but I'm just not so sure about that.
There is another remedy; "Using caution leads to cowardice, which leads to betrayal." Lawrence Tribe regarding impeachment.

[FBaggins]

31. That isn't necessarily so

SCOTUS long ago upheld Congress' inherent power to compel needed testimony - including the power to detain and even arrest/imprison a witness that they hold in contempt.

However - just as with cases recognizing executive privileges, that power isn't unlimited. The case involved a private citizen who refused to comply with a subpoena. It's an open question whether Congress' power here extends to senior members of one of the other two "co-equal" branches of government.

[Jakes Progress]

43. The key word is "compel"

Who will do the compelling? It should be the forces of the executive branch since no other branch has forces. But I don't see trump ordering the justice dept. to arrest barr. Do you?

[uponit7771]

54. If Barr was black would there be any wrestling, jus sayin ... ? thx in advance ...

[Jakes Progress]

55. True. True.

trump would have used him for a bus speed bump long before now.

[pdsimdars]

6. Yes, the GOP is playing gladiator death match and Dems are still playing ping pong.

Lock some people up. Defund them. Fine them. Start playing like these things are SERIOUS.

[Duppers]

8. EXACTLY!!!

[Jakes Progress]

18. Who is going to arrest the people you want to lock up?

What protocol is there to fine them.

This is not a movie. Our country is being taken over by a crime boss and being aided by the gop.

[watoos]

29. Bingo!

[pdsimdars]

34. Legal experts have gone over it a number of times. I'd suggest to watch and listen.

[ehrnst]

39. Can you direct us to which experts you have watched and heard go over this?

Links would be most helpful.

[pdsimdars]

40. Watch some TV. I usually watch MSNBC, they have them on all the time.

They seem to have people who say both things. Hey, I think there was an article somewhere about them considering defunding. Keep looking.

[Jakes Progress]

44. That is the point. This isn't a tv show.

Only the executive branch has the means to force these things. They aren't going to force themselves to do anything. The whole constitution thing worked when you had honest people who wanted it to work. We don't have that anymore.

Run it through in your mind a few times if you don't mind not sleeping at night.

[pdsimdars]

49. What are you talking about? TV show. NO, TV is a place to get INFORMATION. Try it.

Information really helps to formulate your thinking.

[Jakes Progress]

50. Hence, your problem.

Television is a resource. If you trust everything you hear on it, you are woefully misinformed.

All television is a show. They program and tweak to generate ratings. If you think the news division isn't manipulated to generate ratings, you are naive.

There are a number of places to get information. If television is you only or even primary source, you are working with an information deficit.

[pdsimdars]

51. I never said I get all my info from TV, you made that up all by yourself

I mean, think for a moment, I am HERE getting information and HERE isn't TV. It is you who had the problem with being uninformed and asked ME for resources. I told you and all you have done is be mocking. Broaden your horizons, I don't have a problem with getting accurate information, it was you who asked for where to get information.
Try Democracy Now, Amy Goodman gets to the facts.

[Jakes Progress]

52. Oh, dear.

Why do you think it is okay for me to assume after your rant about the virtues of tv news, that I would assume you don't go elsewhere? You seem to think it is okay for you to assume that I never watch tv news.

I never said that. But you jump on your outrage horse and begin beating it. Did you ever see the movie "Big Trouble"? Well, you post reminds me of the radio call in character. "Well. I'm a Gator fan, and I'm calling in."

Amusing that you call someone else uninformed. I didn't ask where I should get information. I'm replete. You are the one who seems to think that the idiot box is smart.

You have made the usual knee-jerk error of either not reading the thread to which you are responding or just being confused when asked to explain yourself. No one asked you where to get information. You said that there were a lot of experts who explained how to arrest people in the justice department. Another poster, not I, gently asked you to provide links to those experts that you said you were so familiar with. You petulantly told the poster to watch a bunch of tv like you do. You provided no names. No links. No support for your inane claim that there were plenty of "legal experts" explaining how the Sargent of Arms of the House of Representatives was going to arrest the Attorney General with his FBI body guards. Basically you popped off on a subject about which you know very little and then got hot when called.

Now prove I'm wrong by listing the "number of times" you have watched "legal experts" explain how to do it. Provide the names of these "legal experts". At that point we can have a discussion. Right now, it's just you ducking your own words.

[pangaia]

36. So what IS possible to do. I like to THINK I have ideas, but....

My only one is what I said before.. get the word out to the citizenry FAST any way possible!!!!!

of course .......

[Jakes Progress]

47. There are about 20 people who can actually stop trump.

Some are republican senators. So that is out.

And Mueller. If he has guts. If he is a patriot.

A few billionaires. Maybe an anonymous leaker of significant documents.

[Rambling Man]

21. It isn't 1985

this isn't Tip O'Neill's House of Representatives anymore.

You don't bring a chess set to a street brawl.

[Hortensis]

9. Nancy's told her caucus to be ready for when the time comes.

[onetexan]

27. WOW that is major -K&R

[dchill]

10. K&R.

[yaesu]

13. Thank you Robert Reich, I hope you are a part of the next Democratic administration. nt

[Jakes Progress]

45. Robert lost his chance

when he decided it was cool to throw shade on Hillary during the primaries. He is smart enough to know that he is just blowing wind here. Boosting readership and looking tough.

[Quemado]

14. I hope he's right.

[LibFarmer]

15. I am all for this

Barr should be jailed

[True Blue American]

33. Get this guys!

Just saw it on the net.

[watoos]

30. Robert Reich told a fairy tale.

The truth teller gave a 45 minute speech on the floor of the Senate. I believe it was the first time that a Senator called for impeachment of the president from the Senate floor. Warren just moved up my list, maybe all the way up, finally one of our candidates with balls.

[triron]

38. Yessir! sHE SURE did!

[duforsure]

32. If he isn't arrested

It will get much worse.

[triron]

37. Yep. Democrats have to realize they are dealing with a crime syndicate led by a mob boss.

[Jakes Progress]

46. Who will arrest him?

Just how does that work?

[gratuitous]

48. Alea iacta est

We're in the last moments before crossing the Rubicon. We need to have our elected officials' backs, because this is going to be a battle. We have to buck each other up, and brace ourselves to ignore the carping from those who have invested themselves - financially, vocationally or tribally - in this administration's corruption.