House Democrats Introduce Resolution To Hold Attorney General In Contempt

CNN is reporting that Democrats in the House of Representatives have introduced a resolution meant to empower committees to go to court to enforce their subpoenas in an effort to give committee chairmen an effective way to hold officials in contempt while bypassing the House floor.

The plan comes after Donald Trump's Attorney General, William Barr, and former White House counsel Don McGahn have stonewalled efforts by Democrats to get subpoenaed documents from the Trump administration.

The Democrats' resolution next week to hold Attorney General William Barr and former White House counsel Don McGahn in contempt and take those cases to court will also include language stating that committees can move to hold officials in contempt of Congress, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said this week.

The resolution will also include language directing the House to petition the courts to obtain grand jury information contained in the Mueller report.

House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler pushed for the move in recent weeks as House leadership decided to wait to hold a floor vote on contempt for Barr until they could package officials together. Now committees themselves would be empowered to use civil contempt citations to go to court to enforce their subpoena.

“House Democrats have formally introduced a resolution to hold Attorney General Bill Barr and former White House counsel Don McGahn in contempt of Congress.”

Keep the pressure on! https://t.co/REp5Hm7eoo

— Amy Siskind 🏳️‍🌈 (@Amy_Siskind) June 6, 2019

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsome Schools An Erroneous Mike Huckabee

Gavin Newsome

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has a new line in his support for rogue county clerk Kim Davis.

Huckabee compares Davis to Lt. Governor Gavin Newsome of California for issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples for a short period of time back when he was Mayor of San Francisco.

Huckabee asserted on ABC’s “This Week” that Davis should obey the law “if it’s right,” comparing her decision to withhold marriage licenses to same-sex couples to Newsome's defiance of Proposition 22.

“It is that the ruling class has thumbed their nose at the the very Constitution,” Huckabee said. “You’ve got Democrats who ignored the law when it was the law to have traditional marriage, Gavin Newsom in San Francisco as major, performed same-sex weddings even though it was illegal. Did he ever get put in jail? He most certainly did not."

The difference, of course, is because when a court ordered Newsome to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples - he did.

The California Lt. Governor was not having any of Hucky's trolling.

Check out Newsome's tweets to the Huckster:

. @GovMikeHuckabee you are dead wrong on the Kim Davis issue -- we issued marriage licenses because we believed the law at that time

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) September 7, 2015

violated equal protection clause of constitution @GovMikeHuckabee. Once the CA Supreme Court (they interpret the constitution) ᐧ

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) September 7, 2015

Once the court ordered me to stop, I did. I was never in contempt of court -- unlike Kim Davis. Get your facts right @GovMikeHuckabee

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) September 7, 2015

Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis Found In Contempt Of Court, Remanded To Custody

In light of Rowan County Clerk's continued defiance to heed even the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriage, U.S. District Judge David Bunning ruled Davis in contempt of court and remanded to custody.

Attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union had requested in their motion for contempt of court that the clerk should be fined, not jailed. The attorneys asked the court to "impose financial penalties sufficiently serious and increasingly onerous" to make her comply with the high court's order.

U.S. District Judge David Bunning felt differently, and saying Davis' supporters would pay her fines. And so, U.S. Marshals took her into custody.

According to reports, she can be released if she will allow her deputy clerks to issue marriage licenses.

From CNN:

The clerk, an Apostolic Christian who says she has a sincere religious objection to same-sex marriage, has refused to issue any marriage licenses since the Supreme Court decision in June legalizing same-sex marriage.

Bunning ordered Davis to resume the issuing of marriage licenses on August 12. Monday night, the Supreme Court denied an emergency application from Davis, who asked that Bunning's order be put on hold pending appeal.

In court papers, attorneys for Davis argued that she is unable to comply with the court orders because issuing same-sex marriage licenses "irreparably and irreversibly violates her conscience."

The ACLU attorneys, who represent two same-sex couples and two opposite-sex couples who want to get married in Rowan County, argued that Davis has no legal basis to avoid performing her duties as a government clerk.

And a federal prosecutor said it's time for Davis and her county to comply.

"Government officials are free to disagree with the law, but not disobey it," U.S. Attorney Kerry B. Harvey said in a statement. "The County Clerk has presented her position through the federal court system, all of the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. It is time for the Clerk and the County to follow the law."

Meme Of The Day: #DoYourJob #KimDavis

Meme of the day via Memeographs: #DoYourJob #KimDavis

Kentucky: ACLU Files Contempt Of Court Motion Against County Clerk Kim Davis

The ACLU has filed a contempt of court motion against Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis for her refusal to follow the law and issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Last night, Davis ran out of legal options when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to intervene. Davis is now bound by the ruling by U.S. District Judge Bunning to begin issuing marriage licenses.

The motion specifically asks that Davis not be thrown in jail, but be fined. Clearly the visual of Davis being incarcerated would give the haters the martyr they are dreaming of.

From the motion:

Plaintiffs do not seek to compel Davis’ compliance through incarceration. Since Defendant Davis continues to collect compensation from the Commonwealth for duties she fails to perform, Plaintiffs urge the the Court to impose financial penalties sufficiently serious and increasingly onerous to compel Davis’ immediate compliance without further delay.

According to the AP, Davis and her deputy clerks have been summoned to a federal court hearing this coming Thursday at 11am where she may be found in contempt of court.