If some local magistrate , lawyer general — or , say , theUnited States Congress — ever place a subpoena ad testificandum on you , the best affair to do , probably the easiest affair to do , is just to show up and save yourself all the headaches .
You couldignore the subpoena ad testificandum , of course ; it happens , more than you might expect . If you choose that route , though , get quick for a reality of sound scathe involving lawyer , loads of wasted prison term , potential amercement and , maybe , some pokey time .
Neither option is great . That comes with subpoena .
" You ’re de jure bound to show up,“Anthony Madonna , Ph.D. , a professor of political science at the University of Georgia told us when we talked to him in 2019 . " The trouble with that has always been enforcement . "
What Is a Subpoena?
only , subpoenasare document that allow attorneys ( or Congresspeople ) to assemble useful entropy . That info is used in tribunal transactions or in Congressional investigations . subpoena ad testificandum , mostly , are the same whether they ’re issued by Congress or some other governmental entity . FromFindLaw :
In most cases , an attorney ordinarily requests a subpoena ad testificandum , and somebody like a justness of the peace , a shop assistant — even a notary populace — signs off on it . Then , it ’s usually served , in person , to the one being subpoenaed .
In the casing of a Congressional subpoena , it ’s issued by a committee , often performing a duty have intercourse asCongressional oversightto probe possible wrongdoing in the political science .
Congress excellently issued subpoenas to get to the bottom of theTeapot Dome scandalin the 1920s and during Watergate in the seventies . The Republican - backedBenghazireport in 2016 used subpoenas to investigate , as did theDemocrat - fueled inquiriesinto the former administration of Donald Trump , his finances and any potential connections to Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election .
TheU.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6 Attack on the United States Capitolhas issued legion subpoena , let in subpoenas for former White House CounselPat Cipollone , RepublicanRepresentativesKevin McCarthy , Scott Perry , Jim Jordan , Andy Biggs and Mo Brooks , Kimberly Guilfoyleand former White House barter adviserPeter Navarro .
And nobody is off limits . The House Select Committee voted 9 - 0 Oct. 13 , in favour of go forth a subpoena ad testificandum for former chairperson Donald Trump to compel his testimony regarding the Capitol insurrection .
" He must be accountable . He is required to answer for his actions , " the instrument panel ’s popular chairman , Representative Bennie Thompson , said during the Oct. 13 audition . " He is required to reply for those law officers who put their lives and bodies on the line to defend our majority rule . "
Manypresidents in historyhave been subpoenaed by Congress , admit John Tyler , John Quincy Adams and Harry Truman , whose subpoenas all came after they left power . Truman refused to testify , though Tyler and Adamsdid cooperate .
Congress subpoena Richard Nixon while he was still in office , twice during the Watergate scandal . The Senate panel investigate the Watergate break - in subpoenaed Nixon in 1974 for tapes and book , but he refused . However Nixon did rick over some documents subpoenaed by House Judiciary Committee investigating Watergate .
Can You Ignore the Congressional Subpoena?
Congress , if you had n’t find , is a political soundbox that often acts like it . Interacting with it often intend hedge a luck of political chuckhole . It ’s issued a flock of subpoenas — more than 100by the House Select Committee Investigating the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol , and several of those have gone disregard . Among some of the most publicized are former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows .
Bannon wasfound guilty by a juryJuly 22 , 2022 , of two numeration of disrespect of Congress for defy to appear for a dethronement and for refusing to produce document . Prosecutors want Bannon toserve six monthsin prison and pay $ 200,000 in fine . His sentencing is Friday , Oct. 21 . However , the Department of Justicedid not indict Meadows .
Other high - ranking official who ’ve discount Congressional subpoenas in the last X let in former lawyer general Eric Holder ( see Now That ’s Interesting ) and former White House advocate Harriet Miers ( in 2008 ) . Neither were indicted .
So will Trump comply with his and what materialize if he does n’t ? Nobody is really certain , but it seems highly unlikely . Here ’s why : Shortly after the committee vote , Trump responded with a14 - page letterdefending his action Jan. 6 . He also has a history of trying to dodgesubpoenas , including those from New York Attorney General Letitia James , who was investigate the Trump Organization . He did finally bear witness in that dethronement , but appeal his Fifth Amendment right field against ego - inculpation 450 times .
So again , if faced with a subpoena ( even if you ’re Donald Trump ) pass to court is hardly tempting . But sometimes , discount a subpoena and taking your legal lumps seems like the safe bet . Spoiler : It probably is n’t .
What Happens If You Bolt on a Subpoena?
The courts and Congress , have way of enforce subpoenas . They ’re not always effective . They often take time . But they have their ways . If you brush aside or defy a subpoena , the court that demanded your presence can encounter you in contempt . A hunky-dory or jail prison term is potential .
In the casing of defying a Congressional subpoena , the committee that issued to subpoena ad testificandum balloting to come forth a contempt mention , and then the full sleeping accommodation votes on it . If it exceed , Congress has three agency to prosecute contempt charges , according to theCongressional Research Service ( CRS ):
If Trump resist Congress ' subpoena ad testificandum , the committee likely would n’t have time to act on a civic legal opinion . " We well greet the fact that because of the Committee only being able to exist to the end of this congressional twelvemonth , because that was the mandatory , we ’re at a piece of a sentence limit here,“Rep . Adam Kinzingertold George Stephanopoulos on " This Week with George Stephanopoulos Oct. 16 , 2022 .
The more likely option would be to refer the pillowcase to the Department of Justice for reprehensible contempt of Congress charges as it did with Bannon , Meadows , Navarro and Dan Scavino .
But even then , Trump belike wo n’t front tough issue . If you defy a Congressional subpoena and are found guilty of despite , it ’s a misdemeanor,“punishable by a amercement of not more than $ 1,000 nor less than $ 100 and imprisonment in a common jail for not less than one month nor more than twelve months . "
The penalties for ignoring non - Congressional subpoenas motley with legal power , and are at the discretion of the preside judge .
Whether it ’s bucking Congress or your local magistrate , brush aside a subpoena ad testificandum clearly is a gamble . If the paperwork and hours in judicature do n’t get you , the fine and/or slammer time might . And in the end , it ’s hard to auspicate what will find . If there is an remainder .
" One of the lines I always wish to recount my student is , ' normal matter until they do n’t , ' " Madonna say . " At the end of the day , rules matter until somebody decide we ’re go to stop enforcing them or we ’re going to enforce them a different way . That ’s scarily or sadly always the compositor’s case . "
