Op-Ed: Crime And Punishment
What happens in Russia when things don’t go exactly as planned? When Putin is displeased, worried or paranoid? He cleans house. Ukraine not unfolding as planned? Fire your top 8 generals in one grand sweep. Worried about disgruntled help stirring through the kitchen? Simple. Fire the entire staff of 1,000 and find the most reliable food tasters the planet has to offer. No discussion, no drama. Perhaps not pretty but it’s swift and efficient.
And what do we do here when things go awry and justice needs to be done? Thankfully we don’t typically employ the extreme top-down measures of our Moscow brethren. Democracy is messy, we all know that. But please - can’t we move a little faster! Global warming is moving faster than our seemingly stuck-in-glue judiciary. Anchored in 2019 by the Trump & Bannon show, Congressional aides, appointed officials, consultants and the cadre of vassals that accompany any President, were told explicitly to simply ignore Congressional subpoenas. Don’t be home. Don’t be found. Just say no to judicial inquiry, a strategy which thus far has proven very effective.
As the House Select Committee continues to be stonewalled by fearless suspects, there is little indication members are close to charging anyone with “criminal contempt of Congress” the prescribed remedy for non-compliance. Criminal contempt means not showing up or refusal to show documents. Three measures are available to encourage cooperation.
1. Cite Inherent Contempt where the Senate Sergeant of Arms can imprison the person until they comply. (not currently in vogue!)
2. Congress can vote on contempt then refer the case to the Executive where a one month prison term can be invoked if the person does not comply and the Judiciary agrees.
3. Congress can ask the Judicial branch to have a civil court enforce a subpoena, a tactic recently attempted several times but the courts moved too slowly for it to be effective.
In reading about attempts by Congress to subpoena potential witnesses, a common response by process servers is that they simply can’t find the person. So, if there is no budget for tracking their whereabouts, find it! Aren’t multiple attempts made until the mission is accomplished? I bet a teen with a phone and a little motivation could do better. To me, saying a person can’t be found is like saying the dog ate my homework. C’mon. Really?
What’s at risk now is everything. Trump is campaigning as I sit here typing, talking about how Putin’s going to give him the skinny on Biden’s Jr.’s dirty Ukrainian money. Midterms are around the corner and the popular consensus seems to be that we will lose the House, possibly the Senate. If rules need to change to enforce judicial compliance, we need to fight for the changes. We can’t win the election if we lose on the judicial front. Serious crimes have been and continue to be committed. If we want to prove our effectiveness as citizens, we need punishment as well. We need accountability. We need to see all the deserving people behind bars.
Eileen Austen
March 30, 2022
