Tuesday, October 12, 2021

Enforce the 1/6 Commission subpoenas today

Now that they have had a long weekend to work on it, there is absolutely no reason they can't file legal action to enforce the subpoenas today.

Seriously, if they are going to do it, why wait a single day longer? It's not like Steve Bannon is going to change his mind or respond to another strongly worded letter. There is a legal theory that congressional subpoenas expire at the end of the legislative session. That issue hasn't been definitively settled by the courts yet, but you can bet your ass that the federal courts, packed with Trump judges, will use that theory to squelch the 1/6 investigation if given the chance. That means that Congress only has 14.5 months to enforce its subpoenas. Given how long the court process can take, that isn't much time at all.

I'm not exactly sure how the process works. I've read some things that talked about the committee might recommend to Attorney General Merrick Gartland to file a case to enforce the subpoenas, and others that talked as if the House Committee (or maybe the House majority) can bring its own lawsuit. However it is done, they need to do it now. Every day they don't is another indication that they are not serious about this.

ADDING: I hope this means the criminal referral happens tomorrow and that criminal complaints are already prepared and are ready to go: