Subpoenas and Contempt of Congress

Congressional committees may issue subpoenas requiring a witness to testify or produce documents. In the House most committee chairs can issue them unilaterally, while Senate committees usually require a committee vote or the agreement of the chair and ranking member. A subpoena carries the force of law, and refusing to comply can lead to a finding of contempt of Congress, voted first by the committee and then by the full chamber.

Congress has three ways to enforce a subpoena. Under criminal contempt, a 1857 statute makes refusal a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail, and the chamber refers the case to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia for prosecution. Under civil enforcement, the chamber sues in federal court for an order requiring compliance, which can take years. Under inherent contempt, the chamber's own Sergeant at Arms arrests the witness and the chamber tries and jails them itself, a power the Supreme Court upheld but which has not been used since 1935.

Contempt fights are most common when Congress and the executive branch clash over executive privilege. The Justice Department's long-standing position is that it will not prosecute an official who refuses to testify on a President's instruction, so criminal contempt against executive officials, such as Attorney General Eric Holder in 2012 and Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2024, has rarely led to charges. Private citizens and former officials have been prosecuted, including Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro, both convicted after defying the January 6 committee and sentenced to four months in prison.