Posted on 05/11/2014 8:07:02 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
Boehner: House won't arrest Lerner
By Russell Berman - 05/11/14 10:53 AM EDT
The House has held Lois Lerner in contempt, but it won’t 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 IRS’s targeting of conservative groups.
“I’m not sure we want to go down that path,” Boehner said. “It’s 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. “I’m not sure that it’s 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 don’t know, but the ball is in his court,” Boehner said.
The U.S. attorney’s 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.
Otherwise know as The Statute of Limitations.
The ball was in Boehner’s court and he scored — for the other team.
Dog and phony shows continued.
In other words, this was just a stunt to garner votes from conservatives, who we despise when there is no election going on.
Many here though that GW would reveal the absolute disrespect that the Clintons showed to The People's House, but instead he made him a brother.
Holder was indeed voted to be in contempt of congress almost two years ago and yet he is permitted to continue to appear before congress to testify. The government is completely broken when there are no consequences for criminal behavior by the Attorney General.
You can only use it once?????
Your post needs to go viral, seriously.
Lerner is NOT worth using this Silver Bullet!
Neither is she worth giving immunity.
This may not be such a dumb move by the House, now it’s
in Holder’s court. I suspect he will come up with some
reasoning why he can’t or won’t, but then the whole
thing steps up a notch. Can the house go directly to the
Supremes on this? What happens then?
From a DC article on this...
“There’s a provision in the Constitution that has never been used,” Boehner admitted. “And uh, and so — that’s uh — I’m not quite sure that we want to go down that path . . . It’s never been used.”
The Speaker couldn’t explain why the provision has laid dormant — “I’m not the historian here” — but said he’s “not sure that it’s an appropriate way to go about this.”
“It’s up to Eric Holder to do his job,” Boehner asserted.
*****
Boehner *asserted*? He sounds like a huge coward. :(
The Supremes would say, oh, no, not my baby. And kick it back to the congress.
They can use it as many times as they want...no???????
Because the whole thing was never anything more than a show for the rubes in the cheap seats.
Imagine that.
Good boy, Johnny!
The Supremes would say, oh, no, not my baby. And kick it back to the congress.
So essentually surrendering to the executive?
They have a choice, side with the Constitution
or Obama. The stakes for all of us, including them
are very high, mortally high.
Restrain dictatorial rule or live under it,
if they call that living...those societies have
a large tendency of eating their own. Choose wisely
Supremes...
Well, if the congress wants to hold her in contempt, then it’d be up to them to enforce it. I believe they have the power to jail her. Holder for sure won’t. And I doubt the supremes would intercede.
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