I've heard Hartmann say that
the Congressional Sergeant at Arms (SAA) can only arrest people on Capitol property. S/he
can't arrest people otherwise, so if Dumpsters refuse to show up at
Congress then no deal. And then there's House
contempt powers. It appears the SAA can indeed arrest those charged with
inherent contempt. Unfortunately this has been rarely used and would
require a lot of Dem gumption to use it, which is questionable. Criminal
contempt has to be referred to a US Attorney, and they can and have
blocked enforcement. And civil contempt, which can be contested by the
Executive Branch.
And this:
"A third alternative is
'inherent contempt,' which is when the House or Senate conducts its own
summary proceedings and cites the offender for contempt. The accused can
be incarcerated, although imprisonment may not extend beyond the end of
the current session of Congress. But this path has not been used since
the mid-1930s."
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