I sound like a broken record, but I would move to prevent this “criminal referral” as it is not one of the “legislative powers herein granted” by Article I and it also lacks a specific legislative purpose, which is required for hearings with subpoena power to be conducted in the first place.
Congress is NOT a Grand Jury. Congress MAY NOT, even by implication, accuse citizens of crimes (other than contempt of Congress). And they CERTAINLY cannot do these things “to stiffen the spines of prosecutors”, who don’t work for them, don’t report to them, and are the ones who at least have proper authority (even if misused, as in these cases) to investigate crimes.
Totally Agree. While their official legislative “justification” for the committee is legislation for “Capitol Security”, they have never focused on that and the vast majority of their witch hunt questioning was and is ultra vires. It has, in reality, been transformed by the leftists into an “Attainder” committee, with the constructive purpose of legislating a CONSTITUTIONALLY PROHIBITED BILL OF ATTAINDER.
Congress isn’t a grand jury but aren’t the referrals basically a summary of what they say they found out and they’re passing it off to the DOJ for further investigation and then Grand Jury, etc.
The panel can do things and question people in ways that the DOJ cannot, right?
Now the panel has someone on record as saying something. That person can’t recant or change their statement otherwise it’s 18USC1001
The panel acted like really shady private eyes turning their findings over to dirty cops.