cwo_ghwebb
03-26-2012, 06:46 AM
On Friday evening, Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich refused the congressional request for subpoenaed documents regarding Operation Fast and Furious– claiming that GOP lawmakers can’t be trusted with the information.
According to CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/23/politics/fast-furious-leaks/index.html), in a letter to Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), Weich suggested that sensitive information was being leaked to the media by their staffs.
“While we do not know who provided these letters to reporters, we are deeply disturbed that the sensitive law-enforcement information contained in them has now entered the public realm…This public disclosure is impeding the department’s efforts to hold individuals accountable for their illegal acts,” he said.
DOJ Official Ronald Weich Refuses Fast and Furious Subpoena, Claims GOP Staff Leaks Sensitive Information | TheBlaze.com (http://www.theblaze.com/stories/top-doj-official-refuses-fast-and-furious-subpoena/)
The arrogance of these DOJ folks is just amazing to me. Looks like a contempt of Congress charge can be levied.
Contempt of Congress is defined in statute, 2 U.S.C.A. § 192, enacted in 1938, which states that any person who is summoned before Congress who "willfully makes default, or who, having appeared, refuses to answer any question pertinent to the question under inquiry" shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a maximum $1,000 fine and 12 month imprisonment.
Before a Congressional witness may be convicted of contempt, it must be established that the matter under investigation is a subject which Congress has constitutional power to legislate.
According to CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/23/politics/fast-furious-leaks/index.html), in a letter to Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), Weich suggested that sensitive information was being leaked to the media by their staffs.
“While we do not know who provided these letters to reporters, we are deeply disturbed that the sensitive law-enforcement information contained in them has now entered the public realm…This public disclosure is impeding the department’s efforts to hold individuals accountable for their illegal acts,” he said.
DOJ Official Ronald Weich Refuses Fast and Furious Subpoena, Claims GOP Staff Leaks Sensitive Information | TheBlaze.com (http://www.theblaze.com/stories/top-doj-official-refuses-fast-and-furious-subpoena/)
The arrogance of these DOJ folks is just amazing to me. Looks like a contempt of Congress charge can be levied.
Contempt of Congress is defined in statute, 2 U.S.C.A. § 192, enacted in 1938, which states that any person who is summoned before Congress who "willfully makes default, or who, having appeared, refuses to answer any question pertinent to the question under inquiry" shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a maximum $1,000 fine and 12 month imprisonment.
Before a Congressional witness may be convicted of contempt, it must be established that the matter under investigation is a subject which Congress has constitutional power to legislate.