Posted on 10/21/2022 12:14:07 PM PDT by Jim Noble
I'm posting a vanity to try to get this discussion going. Congressional committee "hearings" or "investigations" are required to have a discrete legislative purpose (separation of powers). Congress is not a permanent Grand Jury or a Star Chamber.
The practice of making "criminal referrals" to avoid breaching the authority of Article II (Executive) or Article III (Judicial) co-equal branches is not one of the "Legislative powers herein granted" when we created Congress. In fact, Congress is FORBIDDEN from Bills of Attainder against individuals for the exact reason that Congress is NOT an Executive or a Judicial body.
It appears that the January 6 "committee", by the words of some of its members, was created for the PURPOSE of investigating a private citizen with the desired RESULT of getting him punished for an alleged crime.
If this is not an effort to pass a Bill of Attainder against Donald Trump, it comes very close - so close, in fact, that it amounts to an evasion of the specific prohibition placed on Congress by the Constitution.
Can some of out legal eagles please comment?
A “referral” is not supposed to have any power or force. It is not supposed to be any more than .... hey DOJ, we think that there is a crime here.
As long as referrals remain in that “box”, then we are ok.
But any individual can call the police to report a crime.
My issue with this is the PROCESS of a public “investigation” with the investigating body then “voting” on the referral AS IF that has more validity than a nervous old woman calling the police about a noise in the yard.
Neither you nor I have the ability to conduct criminal investigations before we call the police - neither should Congress.
I’m unconvinced that this isn’t a simple evasion of the prohibition against Bills of Attainder.
It depends on the legal constitution of the committee, on which this one fails.
No, it doesn’t depend on the constitution of the committee.
A legally constituted committee of Congress cannot pass a Bill of Attainder. Even if the vote in the House is 435-0 and 100-0 in the Senate, they can’t do it.
What I meant is if the committee was properly constituted. This one is not.
A bill is a law.
They haven’t passed a law.
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