C_Hallbert
Color Commentator
A congressional subpoena and a legal subpoena are two different things.
A congressional subpoena does not require probable cause. Congress can subpoena people and information to inform the legislative or the oversight processes.
Oversight is a broad term; in this particular instance, the congressional subpoena is an oversight subpoena, from the Financial Services Committee, to inform the committee on “possible foreign influence” in the 2016 election.
One protection people have is that it’s incredibly difficult to compel a person to testify. DOJ isn’t the enforcer for Congressional subpoenas, it’s the Sergeant at Arms office. However, that’s a power play that doesn’t really go over well today, so Congress generally refers non-responsive parties in a civil suit to get a judgement from a federal court to compel an appearance or providing the information.
In those cases, the bar that has to be met is legislative purpose, and oversight can be a legitimate legislative purpose.
.....and alternatively, oversight can be used as an illegitimate political tool.
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