Title: Authorizing the Committee on the Judiciary to initiate or intervene in judicial proceedings to enforce certain subpoenas and for other purposes.
Policy area: Law

Summary:
This resolution authorizes the House Committee on the Judiciary to initiate or intervene in federal judicial proceedings to enforce compliance with certain subpoenas issued to Attorney General William Barr and former White House Counsel Donald McGahn.
Additionally, the resolution provides explicit authority for each congressional committee, if authorized by the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, to initiate or intervene in federal judicial proceedings to enforce compliance with congressional subpoenas.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 430 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 430

Authorizing the Committee on the Judiciary to initiate or intervene in 
    judicial proceedings to enforce certain subpoenas and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 6, 2019

  Mr. McGovern (for himself, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Engel, Mr. Nadler, Mr. 
 Neal, Mr. Schiff, and Ms. Waters) submitted the following resolution; 
              which was referred to the Committee on Rules

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Authorizing the Committee on the Judiciary to initiate or intervene in 
    judicial proceedings to enforce certain subpoenas and for other 
                               purposes.

    Resolved, That the chair of the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
House of Representatives is authorized, on behalf of such Committee, to 
initiate or intervene in any judicial proceeding before a Federal 
court--
            (1) to seek declaratory judgments and any and all ancillary 
        relief, including injunctive relief, affirming the duty of--
                    (A) William P. Barr, Attorney General, U.S. 
                Department of Justice, to comply with the subpoena that 
                is the subject of the resolution accompanying House 
                Report 116-105; and
                    (B) Donald F. McGahn, II, former White House 
                Counsel, to comply with the subpoena issued to him on 
                April 22, 2019; and
            (2) to petition for disclosure of information regarding any 
        matters identified in or relating to the subpoenas referred to 
        in paragraph (1) or any accompanying report, pursuant to 
        Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e), including Rule 
        6(e)(3)(E) (providing that the court may authorize disclosure 
        of a grand-jury matter ``preliminarily to . . . a judicial 
        proceeding'').
    Resolved,  That the chair of each standing and permanent select 
committee, when authorized by the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, 
retains the ability to initiate or intervene in any judicial proceeding 
before a Federal court on behalf of such committee, to seek declaratory 
judgments and any and all ancillary relief, including injunctive 
relief, affirming the duty of the recipient of any subpoena duly issued 
by that committee to comply with that subpoena. Consistent with the 
Congressional Record statement on January 3, 2019, by the chair of the 
Committee on Rules regarding the civil enforcement of subpoenas 
pursuant to clause 8(b) of rule II, a vote of the Bipartisan Legal 
Advisory Group to authorize litigation and to articulate the 
institutional position of the House in that litigation is the 
equivalent of a vote of the full House of Representatives.
    Resolved,  That in connection with any judicial proceeding brought 
under the first or second resolving clauses, the chair of any standing 
or permanent select committee exercising authority thereunder has any 
and all necessary authority under Article I of the Constitution.
    Resolved,  That the chair of any standing or permanent select 
committee exercising authority described in the first or second 
resolving clause shall notify the House of Representatives, with 
respect to the commencement of any judicial proceeding thereunder.
    Resolved,  That the Office of General Counsel of the House of 
Representatives shall, with the authorization of the Speaker, represent 
any standing or permanent select committee in any judicial proceeding 
initiated or intervened in pursuant to the authority described in the 
first or second resolving clause.
    Resolved,  That the Office of General Counsel of the House of 
Representatives is authorized to retain private counsel, either for pay 
or pro bono, to assist in the representation of any standing or 
permanent select committee in any judicial proceeding initiated or 
intervened in pursuant to the authority described in the first or 
second resolving clause.
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