It seems about as impactful as having a note sent home to his mommy.
Contempt of Congress is the same as contempt of court, IIRC. The guilty party gets to go sit in jail until he cooperates.
It’s worse than Double Secret Probation.....
“Does anyone know what a contempt vote means besides some political ammunition?”
Not certain, but it Could lead to a charge of interfering with a Congressional Investigation which is good for 5 years, and if it involves foreign terrorism that’s good for 8 yrs.
They can make him talk, give up the documents, if they really want to.
A report I heard stated that:
Yes, Holder could be arrested and jailed - Very unlikely.
Holder could be criminally charged with the prosecution being done by someone in the DOJ who works for Holder - Very unlikely.
Holder would most likely be charged in civil court where he could be ordered to hand over the documents. How long Holder could drag that out, I have no idea.
Rita Lavelle (Republican),
EPA official April 26, 1983
House Committee on Energy and Commerce
Indicted for lying to Congress; convicted; sentenced to 6 months in prison, 5 years probation thereafter, and a fine of $10,000
List here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contempt_of_Congress