What Is Congressional Oversight in US Government?
I keep hearing the dems whining about their "Constitutional" responsibility for "Congressional Oversight" of the Executive branch. The dems seem to think that they have supervisory power and can direct the Executive branch activities however they choose. After reading the above link and the book by Jason Chaffetz it became apparent that Congress has no real enforcement capability. They can cut the budgets of agencies, but have no real "cops" to make things happen. For example, Chaffetz could not make Eric Holder do anything regarding "Fast & Furious" ATF gunwalking scandal - Wikipedia and Holder was held "In Contempt of Congress".
But what about those Congressional Subpoenas??
Don’t Be Fooled: Seven Myths About Congressional Oversight | Government Contracts & Investigations Blog
Congressional subpoenas DO NOT work like other subpoenas – A lot of lawyers who have never practiced before Congress assume subpoenas issued by the legislative branch work the same way as subpoenas issued in other legal proceedings. The truth is Congressional subpoenas are a very different animal. Perhaps most importantly, they are far more difficult to enforce, and the enforcement process takes a very long time. As observers saw a few years ago with Operation Fast and Furious, in order to enforce a Congressional subpoena, the Committee must first pass a resolution of enforcement, holding the subpoena recipient in Contempt of Congress. Second, the full House (or Senate) must pass the resolution. Third, it must be referred to a prosecutor (typically the US Attorney for the District of Columbia) who must choose to seek enforcement in the courts. Alternatively, as happened with Fast and Furious, the House (or Senate) can sue on its own to enforce its subpoena. The process typically takes years and does not always succeed in compelling the production of the testimony or documents at issue."
So as said above, it takes years to really enforce a Congressional subpoena, and congress simply doesn't have the time to waste. So it's very easy to run out the clock on Congress' "Oversight". So lets take a poll on what happens with those nasty subpoenas issued to the Trump admin.
I keep hearing the dems whining about their "Constitutional" responsibility for "Congressional Oversight" of the Executive branch. The dems seem to think that they have supervisory power and can direct the Executive branch activities however they choose. After reading the above link and the book by Jason Chaffetz it became apparent that Congress has no real enforcement capability. They can cut the budgets of agencies, but have no real "cops" to make things happen. For example, Chaffetz could not make Eric Holder do anything regarding "Fast & Furious" ATF gunwalking scandal - Wikipedia and Holder was held "In Contempt of Congress".
But what about those Congressional Subpoenas??
Don’t Be Fooled: Seven Myths About Congressional Oversight | Government Contracts & Investigations Blog
Congressional subpoenas DO NOT work like other subpoenas – A lot of lawyers who have never practiced before Congress assume subpoenas issued by the legislative branch work the same way as subpoenas issued in other legal proceedings. The truth is Congressional subpoenas are a very different animal. Perhaps most importantly, they are far more difficult to enforce, and the enforcement process takes a very long time. As observers saw a few years ago with Operation Fast and Furious, in order to enforce a Congressional subpoena, the Committee must first pass a resolution of enforcement, holding the subpoena recipient in Contempt of Congress. Second, the full House (or Senate) must pass the resolution. Third, it must be referred to a prosecutor (typically the US Attorney for the District of Columbia) who must choose to seek enforcement in the courts. Alternatively, as happened with Fast and Furious, the House (or Senate) can sue on its own to enforce its subpoena. The process typically takes years and does not always succeed in compelling the production of the testimony or documents at issue."
So as said above, it takes years to really enforce a Congressional subpoena, and congress simply doesn't have the time to waste. So it's very easy to run out the clock on Congress' "Oversight". So lets take a poll on what happens with those nasty subpoenas issued to the Trump admin.
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