examples of congressional investigations

examples of congressional investigations

The plurality opinion of the Court rejected his ground for refusing to answer, noting that, if the committee’s public hearings rendered the witness’ state trial unfair, then he could properly raise that issue on review of his state conviction.252, Claims relating to the First Amendment have been frequently asserted and as frequently denied. A key distinguishing factor is the treatment of the attorney-client privilege, a common law privilege that Congress generally does not recognize. He had the dubious distinction of being the first U.S. citizen convicted of a crime committed while serving in the presidential Cabinet. Congressional investigations ought to be authorized for just one reason-the need of the nation to have an investigation carried on in a certain field. Congressional investigations are a curious beast – not criminal, not civil, but nonetheless perilous. For example, Congress has no general authority to investigate the purely private affair of an ordinary citizen. Congressional Investigations and the Lavender Scare Summer 2016, Vol. Share this: Twitter; Facebook; Like this: Like Loading... Related. But such a power had been frequently exercised by the British Parliament and by the Assemblies of the American Colonies prior to the adoption of the Constitution.185 It was asserted by the House of Representatives as early as 1792 when it appointed a committee to investigate the defeat of General St… congressional investigation “is a delicate balancing act between a search for truth and the exercise of political power for policy and partisan advantage” and . The scandal led to important Supreme Court rulings in the 1920s that recognized the substantial power of Congressional investigative committees. But with regard to pertinency, the implications of Watkins were held in check and, without amending its rules or its authorizing resolution, the Un-American Activities Committee was successful in convincing a majority of the Court that its subsequent investigations were authorized and that the questions asked of recalcitrant witnesses were pertinent to the inquiries.237, Thus, in Barenblatt v. United States,238 the Court concluded that the history of the Un-American Activities Committee’s activities, viewed in conjunction with the Rule establishing it, evinced clear investigatory authority to inquire into Communist infiltration in the field of education, an authority with which the witness had shown familiarity. [1] Another witness, who was threatened with prosecution for his Communist activities, could claim the privilege even to some questions the answers to which he might have been able to explain away as unrelated to criminal conduct; if an answer might tend to be incriminatory, the witness is not deprived of the privilege merely because he might have been able to refute inferences of guilt.248 In still another case, the Court held that the committee had not clearly overruled the claim of privilege and directed an answer.249, The privilege against self-incrimination is not available as a defense to an organizational officer who refuses to turn over organization documents and records to an investigating committee.250, In Hutcheson v. United States,251 the Court rejected a challenge to a Senate committee inquiry into union corruption on the part of a witness who was under indictment in state court on charges relating to the same matters about which the committee sought to interrogate him. Below are some examples of books available in the Georgetown Law Library on topics related to Congressional investigations. Although Sinclair and McGrain involved inquiries into the activities and dealings of private persons, these activities and dealings were in connection with property belonging to the United States Government, so that it could hardly be said that the inquiries concerned the merely personal or private affairs of any individual.209 But, where the business, and the conduct of individuals are subject to congressional regulation, there exists the power of inquiry,210 and in practice the areas of any individual’s life immune from inquiry are probably fairly limited. This power is usually delegated to committees -- either the standing committees, special committees set up for a specific purpose, or joint committees composed of members of both houses. These are some examples of the positives and negatives of Congressional investigations. A legislative body cannot legislate wisely or effectively in the absence of information respecting the conditions which the legislation is intended to affect or change; and where the legislative body does not itself possess the requisite information—which not infrequently is true—recourse must be had to others who possess it. . the Rule cannot be said to be constitutionally infirm on the score of vagueness.”228, Because of the usual precision with which authorizing resolutions have generally been drafted, few controversies have arisen about whether a committee has projected its inquiry into an area not sanctioned by the parent body.229 But in United States v. Rumely,230 the Court held that the House of Representatives, in authorizing a select committee to investigate lobbying activities devoted to the promotion or defeat of legislation, did not thereby intend to empower the committee to probe activities of a lobbyist that were unconnected with his representations directly to Congress but rather designed to influence public opinion by distribution of literature. For a statement of the traditional unwillingness to inquire into congressional motives in the judging of legislation, see United States v. O’Brien, 391 U.S. 367, 382– 386 (1968). Shortly before the Civil War, contempt proceedings against a witness who refused to testify in an investigation of John Brown’s raid upon the arsenal at Harper’s Ferry occasioned a thorough consideration by the Senate of the basis of this power. The two agents are under scrutiny for their involvement in the Special Counsel’s investigation into President Trump and alleged collusion with Russia during the 2016 election. The contempt consisted of an alleged attempt to bribe a Member of the House for his assistance in passing a claims bill. The Senate quickly formed a special subcommittee and subpoenaed surviving members of the Titanic crew, along with the chairman of the company that owned the ship, J. Bruce Ismay (who was aboard the doomed ocean liner but escaped on a lifeboat), before they could return to England. A lot of different things can trigger an investigation. Other constitutional rights of witnesses have been asserted at various times, but without success or even substantial minority support. Investigations in Aid of Legislation. For example, if the incident occurred at your duty station in Texas but you vote and pay income taxes in Ohio, you should contact your representative in Ohio. Learning Objectives . The following year, in what was the new nation’s first congressional investigation, a House committee was formed to look into the debacle, which became known as St. Clair’s Defeat. Explicit judicial recognition of the right of either house of Congress to commit for contempt a witness who ignores its summons or refuses to answer its inquiries dates from McGrain v. Daugherty.262 But the principle there applied had its roots in an early case, Anderson v. Dunn,263 which stated in broad terms the right of either branch of the legislature to attach and punish a person other than a member for contempt of its authority.264 The right to punish a contumacious witness was conceded in Marshall v. Gordon,265 although the Court there held that the implied power to deal with contempt did not extend to the arrest of a person who published matter defamatory of the House. FERRARO 2/6/15 2:21 PM FALL 2014 HARD HITTING VOL.14:1 141 Note Hard Hitting: The Impact of Collective Bargaining and Private Civil Litigation on Congressional Investigations in Sports Aaron I. It includes surveys of defects in our social, economic or political system for the purpose of enabling the Congress to remedy them. Claim: "The Dems and their committees are going ‘nuts.’ The Republicans never did this to President Obama." and the press." 13,179 14,444. At the time of the decision, the Self-incrimination Clause did not restrain the states through the, The matter is discussed fully in the section on the. These investigations are often broad in scope and frequently draw in individuals and related organizations, not just the targeted company or agency. The cases emphasize that the power to punish for contempt rests upon the right of self-preservation. In the 1820s Congressional committees regularly began to summon witnesses to testify about proposed legislation. This new phase of legislative inquiry involved a broad-scale intrusion into the lives and affairs of private citizens.”211 Because Congress clearly has the power to legislate to protect the nation and its citizens from subversion, espionage, and sedition,212 it also has the power to inquire into the existence of the dangers of domestic or foreign-based subversive activities in many areas of American life, including education,213 labor and industry,214 and political activity.215 Because its powers to regulate interstate commerce afford Congress the power to regulate corruption in labor-management relations, congressional committees may inquire into the extent of corruption in labor unions.216 Because of its powers to legislate to protect the civil rights of its citizens, Congress may investigate organizations which allegedly act to deny those civil rights.217 It is difficult in fact to conceive of areas into which congressional inquiry might not be carried, which is not the same, of course, as saying that the exercise of the power is unlimited. Name several key enumerated powers that imply oversight authority. 48, No. This series of posts will provide some basics on congressional investigations and key ways in which they differ from criminal or regulatory investigations. EESI CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING WASHINGTON DC October 23 2018 October 23 2018 ATELIERJONES. Posted by harryblain 24th Sep 2019. The committee’s findings led to such reforms as the creation of the court formed under the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Experience has taught that mere requests for such information often are unavailing, and also that information which is volunteered is not always accurate or complete; so some means of compulsion are essential to obtain what is needed. The scope of the power of inquiry, in short, is as penetrating and far-reaching as the potential power to enact and appropriate under the Constitution.”189, Broad as the power of inquiry is, it is not unlimited. 2 By Judith Adkins Enlarge On December 15, 1950, the Hoey committee released this report, concluding that homosexuals were unsuitable for employment in the Federal Government and constituted security risks in positions of public trust. Check by the legislature on the executive Example Amend/delay/reject legislation Override president’s veto Power of the purse Declare war Ratify treaties (Senate) Investigation Impeachment, trial, conviction and removal from office Subpoena documents and testimony Hold individuals in contempt Illegal to lie to Congress Reject presidential nominees Below are the top five examples of investigations obstructed by the Obama administration. [1] It can be a harrowing experience to receive a request for information or documents or for an […] Congressional Reports originate from congressional committees and deal with proposed legislation and issues under investigation. Headed by Sen. Frank Church of Idaho, the sweeping investigation revealed a range of abuses carried out by intelligence agencies, including plotting to assassinate foreign leaders; illegally monitoring Americans’ mail and telegrams; trying to blackmail Martin Luther King Jr. into committing suicide and, in violation of a presidential order, stockpiling deadly shellfish toxin and cobra venom. Thus, pertinency and the witness’ knowledge of the pertinency of the questions asked him was shown. All Rights Reserved. 1. But note that in Jenkins v. Additionally, the opening statement of the chairman had pinpointed that subject as the nature of the inquiry that day and the opening witness had testified on the subject and had named Barenblatt as a member of the Communist Party at the University of Michigan. The first case to review the assertion saw a narrow view of the power taken and the Court held that the purpose of the inquiry was to pry improperly into private affairs without any possibility of legislating on the basis of what might be learned and further that the inquiry overstepped the bounds of legislative jurisdiction and invaded the provinces of the judiciary.204, Subsequent cases, however, have given Congress the benefit of a presumption that its object is legitimate and related to the possible enactment of legislation. Truman left the committee in 1944 when he was running for vice president, but the group continued its work. The witness did not plead his privilege against self-incrimination but contended that, by questioning him about matters that would aid the state prosecutor, the committee had denied him due process. “The best example was Fast and Furious. A companion case was held to be controlled by Wilkinson,240 and in both cases the majority rejected the contention that the Committee inquiry was invalid because both Wilkinson and Braden, when they were called, were engaged in organizing activities against the Committee.241, Related to the cases discussed in this section are cases requiring that congressional committees observe strictly their own rules. those requests interfere with the decisional processes in ongoing investigations. It is perhaps also the most necessary of When a witness refused to answer a question about Communist Party affiliations and based his refusal upon the assertion by a prior witness of “the first amendment supplemented by the fifth,” the Court held that he had sufficiently invoked the privilege, at least in the absence of committee inquiry seeking to force him to adopt a more precise stand.247 If the committee suspected that the witness was being purposely vague, in order perhaps to avoid the stigma attached to a forthright claim of the privilege, it should have requested him to state specifically the ground of his refusal to testify. It has long been settled that the courts may not intervene directly to restrain the carrying out of an investigation or the manner of an investigation, and that a witness who believes the inquiry to be illegal or otherwise invalid in order to raise the issue must place himself in contempt and raise his beliefs as affirmative defenses on his criminal prosecution. As a result of the investigation, Congress enacted various maritime-safety regulations. . Examples of some committees conducting investigations include the Senate Foreign Relations Committee which investigated the effect of NATO Enlargement. Like Like Reply zfrancis1 says: 30th Sep 2019 at 8:03 pm One benefit of congressional investigations is that it … In recent years this rate has been well over 90 per cent, with rarely more than 5-10 incumbents losing their House seats every election cycle. ”194 called upon the President and the heads of departments for lists of persons appointed without the consent of the Senate and the amounts paid to them. Drawing on Schickler, Kamarck, and Miele, highlight one benefit and one cost of Congressional investigations. The panel reinforced this notion. Similarly, in Wilkinson v. United States,239 the Court held that, when the witness was apprised at the hearing that the Committee was empowered to investigate Communist infiltration of the textile industry in the South, that it was gathering information with a view to ascertaining the manner of administration and need to amend various laws directed at subversive activities, that Congress hitherto had enacted many of its recommendations in this field, and that it was possessed of information about his Party membership, he was notified effectively that a question about that affiliation was relevant to a valid inquiry. Although the issue has been one of contention between the two branches of Government since Washington’s refusal in 1796 to submit certain correspondence to the House of Representatives relating to treaty negotiations, it has only relatively recently become a judicial issue. 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 14,000 TIMBER STEEL CONCRETE. Thus there is ample warrant for thinking, as we do, that the constitutional provisions which commit the legislative function to the two houses are intended to include this attribute to the end that the function may be effectively exercised.”187, And, in a 1957 opinion generally hostile to the exercise of the investigatory power in the post-War years, Chief Justice Warren did not question the basic power. Congressional stagnation is an American political theory that attempts to explain the high rate of incumbency re-election to the United States House of Representatives. In the wake of the financial crisis, one congressional committee sought and obtained privileged materials from … Whether confirmation hearings (a procedure unique to the Senate), legislative, oversight, investigative, or a combination of these, all hearings share common elements of preparation and … The topic of executive privilege, the claimed right of the President and at least some of his executive branch officers to withhold from Congress information desired by it or by one of its committees, is addressed in Article II, The Presidential Aegis: Demands for Papers. No provision of the Constitution expressly authorizes either house of Congress to make investigations and exact testimony to the end that it may exercise its legislative functions effectively and advisedly. No provision of the Constitution expressly authorizes either House of Congress to make investigations and exact testimony to the end that it may exercise its legislative functions effectively and advisedly. The punishment would not be efficacious in obtaining the papers in this particular case, but the power to punish for a past contempt is an appropriate means of vindicating “the established and essential privilege of requiring the production of evidence.”268, Under the rule laid down by Anderson v. Dunn,269 imprisonment by one of the Houses of Congress could not extend beyond the adjournment of the body which ordered it. Then, in Sinclair v. United States,207 on its facts presenting a close parallel to Kilbourn, the Court affirmed the right of the Senate to carry out investigations of fraudulent leases of government property after suit for recovery had been instituted. 360 U.S. at 126; Watkins v. United States, Justice Harlan wrote the opinion of the Court which Justices Clark and Stewart joined. Some of the most famous examples of congressional investigations include the Titanic investigation of 1912, the Teapot Dome scandal investigation, the Army-McCarthy Hearings in 1954, the Watergate investigation in the early 70s and the Iran-Contra investigation in 1987. (Washington opted to give Congress the documents they requested.) Watkins v. United States,233 remains the leading case on pertinency, although it has not the influence on congressional investigations that some hoped and some feared in the wake of its announcement. Necessary and proper: best practices for congressional investigations. on the Judiciary). The president of the lessee corporation had refused to testify on the ground that the questions related to his private affairs and to matters cognizable only in the courts wherein they were pending, asserting that the inquiry was not actually in aid of legislation. Justice Brennan concurred solely because the witness had not claimed the privilege against self-incrimination but he would have voted to reverse the conviction had there been a claim. 48, No. In 1923, the Senate launched an investigation into the Teapot Dome scandal, which involved charges that Secretary of the Interior Albert Bacon Fall had secretly leased oil reserves on federally owned lands to two private oil companies in exchange for bribes. The investigation made Kefauver nationally famous and earned him the admiration of citizens across the country. It is not that the First Amendment is inapplicable to congressional investigations, it is that, under the prevailing Court interpretation, the First Amendment does not bar all legislative restrictions of the rights guaranteed by it.253 “[T]he protections of the First Amendment, unlike a proper claim of the privilege against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment, do not afford a witness the right to resist inquiry in all circumstances. At the time, it was a record for campaign violations. resolutions can leave tremendous latitude to the discretion of the investigators. The Court ruled that the Committee had ignored the rule when it subpoenaed the witness for a public hearing and then in failing to consider as a Committee his request for a closed session.243, The Court has blown hot and cold on the issue of a quorum as a prerequisite to a valid contempt citation, and no firm statement of a rule is possible, although it seems probable that no quorum is ordinarily necessary.244. Justices Black, Frankfurter, and White did not participate. DAVIDSON MACROED.DOC 4/18/2006 12:37 PM HARM TO MILITARY PROSECUTIONS 283 The impact of congressional investigations and hearings can be disastrous for subsequent or parallel criminal prosecutions, including those … The more vague the committee’s charter is, the greater becomes the possibility that the committee’s specific actions are not in conformity with the will of the parent house of Congress.” Speaking directly of the authorizing resolution, which created the House Un-American Activities Committee,224 the Chief Justice thought it “difficult to imagine a less explicit authorizing resolution.”225 But the far-reaching implications of these remarks were circumscribed by Barenblatt v. United States,226 in which the Court, “[g]ranting the vagueness of the Rule,” noted that Congress had long since put upon it a persuasive gloss of legislative history through practice and interpretation, which, read with the enabling resolution, showed that “the House has clothed the Un-American Activities Committee with pervasive authority to investigate Communist activities in this country.”227 “[W]e must conclude that [the Committee’s] authority to conduct the inquiry presently under consideration is unassailable, and that . There are a number of committees and subcommittees that exist solely for the purpose of investigations and oversight. The 1997 movie “Titanic” generated such intense interest in the ship’s sinking that the following year a book publisher issued a reprint of the transcripts of the 1912 congressional hearings in their entirety. Legislators in more than 20 states have introduced bills this year that would ban transgender girls from competing on girls’ sports teams in public high schools. We have written about congressional investigations before (here and here), and note that they are indeed unique creatures. . 2 By Judith Adkins Enlarge On December 15, 1950, the Hoey committee released this report, concluding that homosexuals were unsuitable for employment in the Federal Government and constituted security risks in positions of public trust. From 1975 to 1976, prompted by news reports that the CIA conducted a massive, illegal surveillance operation against anti-war activists and other dissident Americans, a Senate committee looked into allegations of intelligence-gathering abuses by the CIA, FBI, National Security Agency (NSA) and Internal Revenue Service. The case was a civil suit brought by Anderson against the Sergeant at Arms of the House for assault and battery and false imprisonment. What is available? Format of the Complaint. Congressional Investigations and the Lavender Scare Summer 2016, Vol. 9 law privileges as asserted by the companies. The Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 200713 contains several drug safety provisions spurred by press. You can look for additional or more specific books and resources in the catalog by using Subject Headings such as Governmental investigations - United States or Legislative … Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. In this part of our practice, we represent government officials, politicians, unions and union leaders, as well as … In times of political passion, dishonest or vindicative motives are readily attributable to legislative conduct and as readily believed. ARV. Jay C. Kim (R-CA) plea guilty in 1997 to accepting $230,000 in illegal foreign and corporate campaign donations, including one-third of all donations to his initial 1992 campaign for Congress after a long term running FBI Investigation in Los Angeles, CA. Congressional Investigations This article explores the political determinants of congressional investigatory activity. Washington, D.C. (February 1, 2021) — Today, Rep. James E. Clyburn, Chairman of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, sent letters to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Tyson Foods, Smithfield Foods and JBS USA launching an investigation into coronavirus outbreaks at meatpacking plants nationwide, which have resulted in the deaths of more … Courts are not the place for such controversies.” Tenney v. Brandhove. “Legislative committees have been charged with losing sight of their duty of disinterestedness. This section addresses the limitations the Bill of Rights places on the scope and nature of the congressional power to inquire. A congressional complaint is basically a business letter in which you clearly describe the issue and ask for specific information and assistance. Congressional Investigations and the “Year of Intelligence” (Traditional Interpretations) By most accounts, the culture of neglect and passivity that characterized intelligence oversight for much of the Cold War underwent an abrupt and dramatic reversal in 1975. Both House and Senate rules, for example, give standing committees the ability to issue subpoenas, hold hearings, and conduct investigations. Congressional Powers of Investigation. Thus, in Yellin v. United States,242 a contempt conviction was reversed because the Committee had failed to observe its rule providing for a closed session if a majority of the Committee believed that a witness’ appearance in public session might unjustly injure his reputation. What constitutional protections ordinarily necessitated by due process requirements, such as notice, right to counsel, confrontation, and the like, prevail in a contempt trial before the bar of one House or the other is an open question.273. The first case so holding is ICC v. Brimson. Consequently the committee was without authority to compel the representative of a private organization to disclose the names of all who had purchased such literature in quantity.231. A United States congressional hearing is the principal formal method by which United States congressional committees collect and analyze information in the early stages of legislative policymaking.. The knee-jerk tribalism can turn even legitimate investigations into political circuses, acknowledged Brian. The U.S. Congress, however, has exercised broad investigative powers, beginning in 1792 with an investigation of a military disaster. Over the course of the inquiry, from 1950 to 1951, committee members, led by Sen. Estes Kefauver of Tennessee, visited 14 U.S. cities, interviewed hundreds of witnesses and uncovered evidence of links between gangsters and corrupt public officials. In principle, the Court is clear on the limitations, clear “that neither house of Congress possesses a ‘general power of making inquiry into the private affairs of the citizen’; that the power actually possessed is limited to inquiries relating to matters of which the particular house ‘has jurisdiction’ and in respect of which it rightfully may take other action; that if the inquiry relates to ‘a matter wherein relief or redress could be had only by a judicial proceeding’ it is not within the range of this power, but must be left to the courts, conformably to the constitutional separation of governmental powers; and that for the purpose of determining the essential character of the inquiry recourse must be had to the resolution or order under which it is made.”191.

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